


Iwatobi Figure Skating Club

by RoseusJaeger



Category: Free!, Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Anxiety, Drama, Established Relationship, Fluff, Injury, Light Angst, M/M, Rating May Change, figure skating AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-03-06 23:28:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13421895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseusJaeger/pseuds/RoseusJaeger
Summary: The Iwatobi Figure Skating Club is in danger of being disbanded by their school until Nanase Haruka desperately asks for help through an email to his cousin, Katsuki Yuuri.With the coaching of a world-class skater, will the team have their successful senior debuts and claim a national title?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know much about figure skating music selection so I'm mostly going to describe fictional music that doesn't exist for y'all to imagine. I've had this idea for a fic in my head for half a year and finally drafted a chapter 1 I'm happy with (even if it's a messy stream of consciousness). If y'all think I should continue this, lemme know. Enjoy!

Today is a calm, normal day in Iwatobi. Makoto wakes up at dawn in order to prepare for early morning practice. He's awake before his entire family but they already know he's heading to the rink so early. He's dressed and stretching as he waits for his toast to pop up, his mind on one thing; He needs to get Haru before going down to the rink.

 

Makoto smiles thinking about Haru; he must be still in the bath right now, preparing his body with his daily ritual of soaking his feet and skin because he believes he lands quads better when he takes a daily bath. It's become just as a routine for Haru as morning stretching has become for Makoto.

 

Soon, Makoto's toast pops up and Makoto quickly eats while he makes his way up the hill to Haru's home. Jogging up the steps is good warm-up for practice anyway.

 

His run up the hill doesn't take long and he calls to Haru from the front door, “Haru! Time for practice.”

 

The most he gets back is a grunt so he has to go inside and knocks on the bathroom door, “Haru, do you need me to prepare your lunch again?”

 

“No... I already packed mine in the fridge.”

 

Makoto frowns, a bit disappointed. He likes making Haru his lunch. It's been one of the small ways Makoto shows his love for Haru... even if it never lives up to the way Haru confessed first years ago.

 

“... Can you get my lunch out of the fridge, dear?” Haru's reply almost stuns Makoto but it makes him smile and rush to the kitchen.

 

Haru reluctantly gets out of the tub. He loves water due to being an ex-swimmer, having swam until he discovered the ice at age eight. At eight, he realized he enjoys water in it's solid form as well and ended up joining Makoto at the town's figure skating club. If it weren't for Makoto, he wouldn't still be skating to this day.

 

Once he's dried off and dressed in his training attire, Haru quietly joins Makoto in the kitchen. Makoto turns with the lunch in his hand and offers it to Haru, who takes it. The two share a wordless confirmation and they makes their way towards the rink. Haru hates running but can tolerate it when Makoto is doing it with him.

 

As said before, Haru started skating because of Makoto. At eight years old, Haru was convinced by Makoto to go skating with him and it sparked a love for the ice he never knew he had. Of course, it wasn't love at first skate like Makoto but grew the longer Makoto showed him how to balance himself and the eagerness to catch up to his best friend.

 

Since learning how to skate, Haru and Makoto have earned some medals in Juniors but Haru stopped skating competitively after about two years ago after beating his other friend, Rin... they had a fallout backstage that never got reconciled. It was so bad that Rin left for Australia, leaving Haru feeling too guilty to skate competitions again. Even to this day, now that Haru is in the Iwatobi Figure Skating Club with Makoto, Nagisa, Gou and Rei, he still refuses to sign up even though he has the most quads learned (and talent).

 

The two are winded when they arrive at the rink. Makoto tries to slow Haru down so he can stretch before getting on the ice... but it's a fruitless effort because Haru almost crashes into the front desk and stares at the attendant to get him his skates (they visit the rink so often, and because it's a small town, that the rink just started storing their skates for them). The bored attendant sighs at the sight of Haru and lazily gets his skates with a quick 'here you go' before passing them to him. Haru is quick to rush towards the ice, almost hopping on one foot to get one skate on before sitting to actually get the second one on. Makoto shakes his head at the sight while the attendant gets him his skates.

 

The most Haru does before getting on the ice is stretch his legs for ten seconds before discarding his skate guards and start slow laps around the rink edge. Makoto checks his phone to see what time it is and it seems they have another fifteen minutes before Nagisa, Rei and Gou show up for practice. Unlike Haru, Makoto takes his time to stretch. He stretches his legs at least three different way, stretches his arms and practices hip rotations for the spins and triples, possibly quads if it's a good day, he's going to practice. Makoto does worry that Haru will injure himself one of these days without proper warm up. It's the summer, so maybe Makoto is just being extra cautious when it's off-season (sometimes he wonders if he'll ever medal again, now that his mind is on that).

 

Haru watches while doing figure eights as his boyfriend stretches. He always appreciates just how hard Makoto trains even in the off-season, praying he'll finally start winning medals again like they did when they were younger... in fact, it's the fact they're not winning medals is what's threatening the existence of their club right now.

 

Sure, they were close last season but Makoto was robbed of bronze at Junior Regionals being at fourth place, in Haru's humble opinion, and Nagisa was seventh. Rei... well, he's only been skating for two years and they're just proud he can land doubles on a good day. Okay, they aren't complete failures because they do have at least one member that medaled and that was Gou. She won gold at Junior Regionals but she was so nervous at nationals that she missed most of her jumps and landed in ninth. Luckily, she's strong-willed and had the support of her brother to keep her from quitting skating... and her success at regionals is why their school hasn't cut their club yet... or possibly Nagisa's family's donations to keep their club alive as well. It's a combination of both.

 

Haru steadies his breathing and prepares to launch himself for a quad Salchow. 3... 2... 1... Haru pushes himself off the ice and starts to rotate. He gets three and a half rotations off the ice but finishes the jump on the ice. As he glides after the jump, he mentally curses himself for 'cheating' the jump. He curses letting his mind wander so much while on the ice.

 

By this time, Makoto is getting on the ice and calls out, “That was a good triple, Haru!” He's unaware he added insult to injury for Haru but Haru forgives him. It's these small mistakes that can make the difference between medaling and failure... and Haru doesn't know why he cares so much about his own skating when he's not even competing in their club.

 

Haru doesn't realize how deep in his thoughts he is until Makoto glides over and rests a hand on his shoulder. Their eyes meet and Makoto reassures, “Haru, it's okay. You can land a Salchow really easy. Whatever is on your mind will get better.” Haru relaxes. Makoto always seems to know how to console everyone on the team so he's like the team's coach in a way Sasabe, their childhood coach, never could.

 

After comforting Haru, Makoto skates off and gets in as meditative as he can get on the ice. Haru can't help but watch as Makoto skates several laps at a high speed in both directions and then slow himself down in do an Ina Bauer. Makoto's form is amazing, having practiced that move many times

 

Seeing the elated expression on Makoto pulls out a rare smile from Haru.

 

“We're here!” The bubbly voice of Nagisa calls out to them as they appear at the rinkside with their skates and workout clothes. Rei looks tired and Gou seems mildly annoyed in her Junior Regionals uniform. Haru doesn't blame her, knowing exactly what she's annoyed about. Today is a club meeting about their club expenses and how they're going to keep their club alive through the next skating season. They have three months to get their act together or their club gets cut.

 

Haru and Makoto skate to the rinkside and get on their skate guards. The meeting has more importance than practice at the moment and they all know it. They planned on having Sasabe there but it seems their supposed 'coach' is late again so they start without him... he doesn't even help with funding of the club so what's the point of including him at this point?

 

The five stand in the circle and Gou, the club manager, gets right to the chase, “Okay, so here's the situation; We have yet to impress our school with accomplishments when it comes to skating, even with my regional title, and we can't keep relying on Nagisa's family to keep funding us all... any ideas to fix one of these problems?”

 

Nagisa raises his hand and says, “Bake sale? At least we're not failures when it comes to cooking and that would solve our funding problem.”

 

Gou nods and says, “Good idea... but what about the medalling issue? Coach Sasabe mostly teaches ice dance so he can't coach us any better on how to improve our jumps and spins. He's taught us what he knows but what now?”

 

Rei offers, “... Can we raise enough money to hire us a better coach?”

 

“A coach is going to drain our club funding drier than it already is and you still need new skates, Rei.” Haru adds. Rei huffs; they all know Rei is reluctant to abandon his lucky skates.

 

Makoto scratches the back of his neck and says, “We've been doing okay on our own without a real coach. Our problem is just training our consistency. If we had more time to practice, we could fix that but we have school to worry about... Not all of us can afford to miss too much school either.”

 

There are mumbles of agreement and Nagisa complains, “I wish Haru-chan and Mako-chan could join our ballet class, Rei! It would really help them with their form on the ice...”

 

Haru rolls his eyes. He has a hard enough time affording the monthly membership for the ice rink let alone being able to go to ballet. Same for Makoto; they both have to rely on innate talent and Sasabe's early on ice dance training to keep their form in shape.

 

Gou gets them back on topic, “So, we're going to keep on the plan of watching Youtube videos of other world-class skaters to give us goals on what to improve on again?”

 

The boys nod and she sighs heavily, “Figures, we're fucked then.” The boys sigh as well. She's not wrong; they're in hot water and if they don't do something soon they're going to lose their club. None of them have any idea what to do next... or so they thought.

 

Nagisa jokes after a few moments of awkward silence, “What if we send a letter to Katsuki Yuuri begging him to be our coach?”

 

Gou shoots that down quick, “Don't be an idiot. Like that would ever work anyway... Let's get on the ice. We'll keep going as usual and I'll set up for the bake sale, sound good?”

 

Nagisa grumbles about his idea being canned but nods with Rei. While Gou, Rei and Nagisa head out onto the ice to work on their new programs for the new season, Makoto whispers to Haru, “Do you think your cousin would actually respond to a letter?”

 

“A letter? No. An email? Probably.” Haru replies soundly. Yes, Katsuki Yuuri and Nanase Haruka are cousins. Close cousins as well. The more Haru considers it, the more tempted he is to see what his cousin would say. However, he knows his cousin just won a gold medal last season and is preparing to marry his fiance so there's a high chance that it won't work out... but their club is so desperate that it's worth a shot.

 

Makoto smiles and rests a hand on Haru's shoulder before saying, “Do what feels right, dear.”

 

Haru nods and goes back onto the ice with the others. It's amusing to watch as Nagisa tries to coax Rei to ice dance with him to some k-pop song and win. Nagisa has his camera mounted on the rink wall to film their performance for Youtube. Gou tries and repeatedly fails to land a triple Lutz. Haru has tried helping her before but she insists that she can do it on her own, claiming that a guy can't teach her how to land it properly. Haru doesn't fight her judgment, knowing it's because she doesn't want to feel weak. Most interestingly, watching Makoto glide his way into a perfect quad Toe Loop keeps Haru's attention the most. Their eyes meet and Haru wishes pair skating had a same-sex division so they could skate together.

 

In other words, practice goes the same as it usually does. Haru managed to land a quad Flip instead of a triple when practicing an old program from his junior days and he considers that a small victory. Although he's reluctant, he gets off the ice when it's time to go and stays by Makoto's side on the way home. The two get to spend the rest of the day together, so what's not to love?

 

…

 

Haru and Makoto don't get home until late afternoon. They still have to go to summer school in order to catch up on the school they miss in the mornings due to practice. It's the compromise the school came up with in order for their club to have morning and afternoon practice. It's a tough schedule but they get by.

 

When they arrive at Haru's house after the afternoon practice, the two are exhausted. Haru changes into more comfortable clothes before offering silently to Makoto to make them dinner. Makoto nods, knowing his family knows he spends most dinners with Haru now they're a couple... even if it's mackerel most nights. Makoto helps chop vegetables to make sure the meal is balanced. The last thing they need is for Haru to faint again like he did a few years ago because of an unbalanced diet. He doesn't miss Haru put some of the leftover raw mackerel into a bowl for the stray cats that live in the area.

 

When dinner is complete, the two sit with their plates outside on the small porch and watch the stray cats eat the bowl of food set out for them. Haru rests his head on Makoto's shoulder and the other man smiles. Even with the threat of their club being shut down, they still have each other. Even if their club is disbanded, they can always commute to another rink in the next town over. It will mean less practice time and having to conserve their money even more but they'll get by.

 

Even with that backup plan, Haru quietly says, “I'm going to email my cousin, Makoto.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“I know we have a backup plan but... it won't be fair to Rei, Gou, and Nagisa if we have to practice in the next town over. It's not fair already that we're losing our club when Gou was almost a national champion. She had sponsors, Makoto.” Haru sits up while talking, passionate. It really isn't fair.

 

Makoto nods and agrees, “I know, Haru... Hopefully, your cousin can help. Katsuki-kun has always had your support throughout the years so hopefully, he'll return the favor.”

 

Haru doesn't want to let on to Makoto how much Yuuri really has done for him... they wouldn't be a couple if Yuuri hadn't given Haru the courage to confess. Instead, Haru just snorts and scoots closer to Makoto; that surprises Makoto, not used to Haru being so affectionate. Haru is comfortable resting against Makoto's shoulder, taking his time to figure out how he's going to ask his cousin,

 

The stars come out when Makoto reminisces about the past, “Haru... I'm remembering when you confessed to me.”

 

“What about it?” Haru asks.

 

Makoto blushes, “I can't believe you ignored me an entire skating season because you thought I would reject you.”

 

Haru grumbles, “I figured if I was to be rejected it would have to be after I got through all my competitions. I wouldn't have been able to handle the heartbreak mid-season.”

 

His boyfriend chuckles and adds, “While you were pining over me, I was pining to be on the ice. Can you believe I broke my ankle just before the season started? I guess it was fate because you ended up with silver and a boyfriend,” When there's no answer from Haru, Makoto sighs, “Haru... I wish I'd known how you felt sooner. Maybe if you hadn't confessed with your free skate... Rin wouldn't have gotten so upset-”

 

“It's in the past,” Haru interrupts and gazes into his eyes, “I don't regret confessing to you on the ice. I don't compete anymore so I can't upset Rin anymore either. End of story.” He doesn't like being abrupt with Makoto but he doesn't want to relive what happened after Junior Regionals when they were thirteen. It was already months of pining and suffering for Haru that ended in him losing his best friend with the silver lining being he found his first love felt mutual. It was a rollercoaster ride that Haru wants to forget.

 

Makoto seems to understand and gives a pitiful smile. To relax his partner, Haru assures him, “I love you, Makoto. I may not compete anymore but I have you now, so I can skate with all my heart now. Is that okay?”

 

There's silence between them until Makoto cautiously strokes Haru's cheek and comforts, “Of course that's ok. I love you, too.”

 

There's so much relief between them that they can't help but hug. When they pull away, Makoto has a look in his eyes signaling what he wants and Haru indulges him. They kiss. Makoto's hands run through Haru's hair, eyes closed and stay close. Haru relaxes into it, knowing how passionate his partner is and enjoys every second of it. He can't help but notice Makoto still tastes like the dinner he prepared. When they pull away, they share a fond look.

 

The two suddenly move their attention to the white cat that is watching them. The cute creature meows and gets into Makoto's lap. Makoto chuckles and the two give the cat some attention. It's a nice distraction from the previous topic but doesn't let Haru forget what he needs to do once Makoto goes home. He needs to draft an email to his cousin.

 

…

 

“ _Haru, we'll always skate for each other, right?”_

 

_Haru isn't sure what to say when Rin asks him that. They're standing under the cherry tree of their elementary school, saying their goodbyes before Rin goes to Australia. When Haru doesn't reply immediately, Rin assures, “Well... I'll always think of you when I skate. You're my best friend.”_

 

_With that, Haru sighs and gives a small smile before responding, “I'll skate for you, too... I'll miss you, Rin.”_

 

_Rin looks like he's going to cry but manages to say before running off, “Don't worry. The next time we see each other will be on the podium when I come back! I promise!”_

 

_Haru can only just watch him leave. Surely he'll always skate for Rin, right?_

 

…

 

_Haru realized he is in love with Makoto during the off-season before his first serious competition. While practicing a spin, he heard a loud cry from Makoto. Stopping the spin, he notices Sasabe rushing onto the ice where Makoto is clutching his ankle. He feels a lump in his throat and is frozen in place. Makoto is hurt._

 

_His daze is broken when Sasabe commands Haru to help him get Makoto off the ice but is replaced with panic as he sees how injured Makoto is. His ankle shouldn't be bent that way and it's black and blue. Makoto nearly screams when Sasabe tries to get his skate off; Haru isn't sure how they got him off the ice but his heart is beating so fast he can't think. Sasabe tries to get Haru to go get Makoto's things from the locker room before he calls the ambulance but Makoto refuses to let Haru leave his side, “D-Don't let Haru go! It hurts so much!” Sasabe grits his teeth but lets Haru stay even though Haru has no idea what to do to comfort his friend._

 

_He vaguely remembers Sasabe calling an ambulance and riding with Makoto to the hospital. By now, maybe Makoto has adrenaline running through his veins to deal with the pain but he's still crying. Haru eventually gets himself together when he realizes, “Makoto... you're not going to be able to compete this season, are you?”_

 

_That line is enough distraction for Makoto when he realizes that as well and sniffs, “Y-You're not wrong... Haru, can you hold my hand?”_

 

_Holding his hand, Haru wants nothing more than for Makoto to be okay. He wants Makoto by his side._

 

…

 

_Realizing you're in love with your best friend after he breaks his ankle and can't skate is a hell of a way to do it. Haru is listening to Makoto assure him over the phone, “I'm going to be okay! Doctor told me I can't skate this upcoming season but I'm going to be cheering for you... I won't be able to leave home for awhile, so I guess you'll have to surprise me with your programs!”_

 

_When Makoto starts to get teary-eyed, Haru says, “It's going to be ok... You sure you want me to keep my programs a surprise?” Haru hasn't even figured out what he's going to skate to that season._

 

“ _Yeah... I'm sorry we can't compete against each other this season-”_

 

“ _Makoto,” Haru makes sure he's listening, “It's alright... If you need anything, let me know. Alright?”_

 

_He hears a sniffle and assumes there's a nod through the phone before Makoto just starts crying. Haru listens as Makoto rambles on about how sorry is he that he didn't land that triple toe loop right and feels his heart fill with emotion. He loves Makoto and hearing how much pain he's in makes him realize he has no idea how to deal with it. He's barely thirteen and this is his first time in love._

 

_When Makoto eventually says his goodbyes, Haru flops in his bed and starts to text the only person he can think of that would understand; His cousin, Yuuri. Sure, his cousin has never been in love before but there's no way that Haru is going to ask his parents about falling in love and he doesn't have any siblings to ask._

 

_Haru rewrites the text multiple times before deciding on something._

 

_Haru: Yuuri, can we talk?_

 

_He gets a reply about twenty minutes later._

 

_Yuuri: What about? How have you been?_

 

_Haru: I could be better. I need your advice about something... I fell in love with my best friend._

 

_There are a few minutes before another reply._

 

_Yuuri: OwO congratz! What kind of advice do you need?_

 

_Haru sighs and types out what happened._

 

_Haru: I'm in love with my best friend... it's Makoto, not Rin. But, he broke his ankle at practice the other day and I realized I never want to lose Makoto. I love him and want to be with him... but I don't know how to tell him. I'm afraid he'll reject me._

 

_There's a long set of minutes before Yuuri replies._

 

_Yuuri: Both you and Makoto skate, right?_

 

_Haru: Yes_

 

_Yuuri: Okay, and you skate because of Makoto, right?_

 

_Haru thinks a good ten minutes about it before admitting it._

 

_Haru: Yes. I skate because of Makoto._

 

_Yuuri: Then show him you love him through skating. Eventually, you will have to tell him that you love him to his face but I know you and that you don't communicate well with words. Have you decided on your programs for the new season yet?_

 

_Haru: … No_

 

_Yuuri: Then you know where to start. Skate for Makoto :) If you do well, he'll see your feelings in your skating._

 

_It's a brilliant idea. Haru is glad he asked his cousin... but he's anxious. He still could get rejected and he's not sure how he'll survive or their friendship will last if that happens. He gets one last text from Yuuri._

 

_Yuuri: I believe in you, cousin. Thank you for trusting me._

 

_Haru smiles and texts a 'thank you' back before getting on his laptop. He finds a new motivation to start finding music for his new programs... even if his attempts are for naught._

 

…

 

“ _From the Iwatobi Figure Skating Club, please welcome Nanase Haruka!” The announcer introduces through the speakers of the rink at the Junior Regionals. Haru made it through the local competitions to get to this point months later. He spent months practicing his new programs for this day... the day Makoto would be able to watch him skate. He may have missed his short program but he won't miss this free program... the program he's most proud of._

 

_The current standings have Haru in third, behind Rin. Rin had returned from Australia for the season but Haru's focus was on preparing to impress Makoto. So even when Rin waves to him, his focus before getting on the ice is on Makoto. Makoto is still on crutches but he's at the rinkside, ready to finally see Haru's program for the first time._

 

“ _Good luck, Haru.” Makoto says._

 

_Haru is a little reluctant to leave the rinkside. Before Makoto can ask what's wrong, Haru commands, “Don't take your eyes off me... I have something to tell you but I don't know how to say it except on the ice.”_

 

_Makoto blinks but seems to understand and nods. Haru's hand brushes Makoto's before he skates to the middle of the ice and gets into his starting position; Haru has a hand on his heart and is gazing towards the ceiling as if looking to the heavens. His uniform is a white shirt with rhinestones on the shoulders and suspenders for black slacks. When the music plays, the message of his skating begins. Soft notes of a piano reverberate through the rink and Haru back skates with his hand cupping together as if in prayer._

 

_The audience is in awe of this younger skater as the vocals of woman flood the rink, singing of love while Haru does a simple step sequence. Makoto isn't sure when realizes he was holding his breath because this skating is so refined and mature that he almost doesn't recognize his childhood friend. Haru mimes with his body the act of reaching out to someone but not quite being able to reach them until he has to prepare for his first jump combination._

 

_Haru glides back, taking a deep breath before skating back on the outer edge of his blade and then launching himself into the air into a double Salchow. When he clears it, the audience holds their breath as he launches himself again into a double Toe Loop. Clearing the jumps, the crowd goes wild with applause. Makoto claps and mutters a 'good job, Haru'._

 

_Next, Haru mimes the actions of someone searching for their love until he begins his combination spin. He begins with a scratch spin, his free leg crossed in front of his skating leg with his arms circled in front of him, then transitions into a Y-spin, pulling his leg up to to form a 'Y' with his body before finally transitioning into a layback spin, spinning on one foot with his back arched. When he finishes his spin, the audience claps._

 

_The vocals of the women reach the first chorus and Haru is reflecting the woman's anguish genuinely of not catching the attention of the one their love. With the look on Haru's face, Makoto starts to realize what Haru's skate means and mutters an 'Oh, Haru...”_

 

_The judges know that Haru's next jump combination is supposed to be a double-double combo... but they aren't prepared for what Haru really has planned. Haru launches himself into a triple Toe Loop and completes the combination into a double Loop. The crowd is in awe once again and the applause would be deafening if Haru wasn't so into his program. The judges are surprised but simply search for any under-rotations. Makoto has a hand over his mouth because Haru couldn't land triples before he was injured._

 

_As if to add to everyone's amazement, Haru does his best outside edge Ina Bauer during the climax of the song's piano chorus leading into a circular step sequence. The crowd is encaptured by Haru's performance... especially Makoto, who understands why Haru was secretive even with his music selection with him and why there were moments that he felt Haru was hiding something from him._

 

_His last jump is supposed to be a double but again he surprises the audience, judges, and Coach Sasabe by setting up a Lutz. Naturally, the surprise is it's a triple._

 

_By now, Haru is crying because the performance is almost over and all his feelings have been compiled into this one program. Even his short program can't hold a candle to this one... If Makoto doesn't get his feelings from this, he isn't sure what he's going to do._

 

_The woman's song reaches the climax at the end of the song and Haru does his final combination spin. He jumps into a flying sit spin, transitioning into a camel spin, into an A-Spin and finishes with a Y-spin before finally posing with his hand on his heart and the other reaching in front of him while on one knee. The music ends and the crowd erupts into cheering. Makoto can't help but limp his way on crutches over to Coach Sasabe to meet Haru when he finally skates over to exit the rink. Haru has a dolphin plushie that was thrown to him by a fan in his arms._

 

_Their eyes meet and Makoto is tempted to wipe the tears away but instead asks, “Can I join you in the Kiss and Cry?”_

 

_Haru simply nods and avoids eye contact afterword. Both boys hear Coach Sasabe scold Haru for changing his jump elements in the middle of the program but are focused on each other. The kiss and cry is a blur for Haru because Makoto is holding his hand and he can't help but feel shy. They announce his score and Sasabe hugs them both because it puts him ahead of most of the other skaters except Rin. A wonderful score._

 

_They're backstage when Makoto says, “I understand your program, Haru.”_

 

_Haru won't look him in the eyes as he asks, “And?”_

 

_Makoto makes Haru look at him with a blush on his cheeks, “I love you too, Haru.”_

 

_Haru is stunned, having prepared for months for rejection. He blinks and just stares at Makoto, not sure what to say now his feelings have been returned. Makoto lets go of his shoulders and is just smiling wide before saying, “I thought my feelings would be rejected but I never thought it would be you that would... confess first.”_

 

_Haru bites his lip, nervous before he asks, “So... are we a couple?”_

 

“ _If you want that, then yes. I'd love to be your boyfriend, Haru.”_

 

_Haru smiles for the first time in a long time and hugs Makoto. The two hug for a long time until Sasabe returns from some coaching business and encourages Haru to go get changed. The two are separated but share a lengthy gaze before being losing sight of each other. Haru is over the moon by the time he rounds the corner... but isn't expecting who is waiting for him at his locker. Sasabe is not there, it's only Haru and the visitor, Rin._

 

_Haru is confused until Rin says, “What the fuck was that? I thought we agreed we'd be skating for each other.”_

 

_His shoulders fall and tries to explain, “Rin, it's not-”_

 

“ _Not what I think it is? I'm pretty sure it was obvious... you lied to me,” Rin is almost in tears, “You said you'd skate for me and then you go skate for someone else,” He sniffles before declaring, “I quit. I spent so much time trying to skate for you and you ignored me. I'm done skating. I hate you.”_

 

_Haru doesn't remember exactly what happened after that except that Sasabe and Makoto found him crying after Rin ran off... and that he vowed never to compete again. He endured the medal ceremony with his silver medal and Rin his gold. He's lucky that Makoto understood his decision when he explained what Rin told him. Haru was never the same after Rin's declaration. The guilt ate at him and he never competed again and never considered it..._

 

… Until now.

 

…

 

In St. Petersburg, Katsuki Yuuri is resting after some hard training with Victor. The two may not be competing in the next season but that doesn't stop them from staying in shape to keep up on the ice with future skating students. The two agreed their new careers would be in coaching together but the two have still yet to find new students; Yuri Plisetsky decided to stay coached by Yakov and convincing new students in Juniors to go under their wing is hard due to their lack of experience. It's tough but they're staying positive that a student will come forward... not expecting it to come from an email.

 

Lounging on the couch with Makkachin, Yuuri's attention is caught from browsing social media by a notification of a new email. Victor is nearby reading a book in his favorite chair, watching Yuuri with the corner of his eye as Yuuri sits up and opens his email app. With a smile at who the sender is and then a frown at the email tagline, Yuuri reads the email.

 

_From: Haruka Nanase_

 

_To: Yuuri Katsuki_

 

_Subject: Need help, our figure skating club is about to be shut down_

 

_It's been a long time, cousin. How have you been? I watched you win the Grand Prix Final and win silver at World Championship. Congratulations. I also wish you the best on wedding planning since I know you wanted to win gold before getting married._

 

_I can't say I've been in best of spirits since my skating club has a serious problem. Our school is threatening to cut our club. Their reasoning is because we're 'not showing enough growth as a team' but we both know that's code for 'we don't want to spend money to keep your club going'. We need either funding or to show them significant growth beyond our current achievements._

 

_I'm not asking for money but a suggestion one of the teammates made prompted me to at least try asking you. We would like to recruit you as our new coach._

 

_For some background on my teammates (since you know my achievements already):_

 

_Tachibana Makoto - 4th place at Junior Regionals last season, one bronze medal in Junior Regionals. Can land a quad Toe Loop, Loop, Flip, and Lutz in practice but not yet in competition._

 

_Hazuki Nagisa - 7th at Junior Regionals last season, has won silver in our town competition. Cannot land any quads consistently but can land a triple Axel consistently in practice as well as other triples._

 

_Ryuugazaki Rei - Can land doubles in practice, landed a triple Toe Loop once, extremely talented at spinning; he's only been skating for two years but has talent for a new skater._

 

_Matsuoka Gou - Won gold at Junior Regionals and was 9th at Japan Nationals. Extremely talented at landing triple-triple combinations when nerves don't get to her and needs help learning a Lutz. Out of all of us, she has the best shot of going professional._

 

_I know it's a lot to ask of you but we're desperate to improve. I'm still not competing but I won't stand by while my teammate's effort is squandered by our school. All I ask is that you and possibly your fiance consider teaching us for the next season before your wedding. Thank you._

 

_From your dearest cousin, Haru_

 

Yuuri is startled when he realizes Victor is struggling to read the letter in Japanese over his shoulder. He ends up translating it for Victor and is amused at Victor's changing faces as he reads the letter. Once he's finished reading the letter, Yuuri waits for Victor's reaction and almost chuckles at his response.

 

“... You have a cousin you're this close to?” Victor asks and Yuuri nods. Victor crosses his arms and seems hurt, “Why didn't you introduce me to him when we were last in Hasetsu?”

 

“He doesn't live in Hasetsu. He lives in Iwatobi. We would have had to ride the train to go see him.”

 

“Oh... Well, this is good news for us! We found some students. It would be nice to see exactly how they skate though-”

 

“They have a Youtube channel,” Yuuri interjects, “I could show you who they all are.”

 

Victor seems to light up excitedly that even Makkachin gets excited and says, “Show me.”

 

Yuuri goes into his Youtube app and finds their channel in his subscriptions. The channel is entirely in Japanese and the videos are sorted into playlists by skater. They have a couple thousand subscribers and over eighty videos. Most of the videos are performances by Nagisa and Rei but littered in are a few candid performances by Gou, Makoto, and Haru. Victor mutters aloud if any of his programs have been recreated by them and Yuuri knows exactly which one to show him first.

 

Victor gasps as Yuuri picks a performance by Makoto and Haru of the famous exhibition skate by Victor and Yuuri, the duet version of 'Stammi Vicino, Non Te Ne Andare'. As the two skate on screen, Yuuri points out, “The one with black hair is Haru and the taller young man is Makoto.” Victor nods, in awe as Haru somehow lifts Makoto on the ice. What really catches the couple's attention is the love and compassion that Haru and Makoto show each other in their movements. So much that Victor's hand finds Yuuri's and they watch in awe together with Victor's occasional criticisms.

 

When the routine is over, Victor asks, “Why doesn't Haru compete anymore? He landed that quad Loop beautifully. Why doesn't he make his senior debut?”

 

Yuuri sighs and says, “He... had a falling out with his best friend.” Victor's gaze has so many questions and leads to Yuuri telling the story about how Haru fell in love with Makoto but it ended up upsetting Rin, who is on the cusp of his own senior debut, in the process. Victor hums in understanding, resting a hand on his chin in thought.

 

Yuuri finishes with, “It's a mess... To be honest, I won't push my cousin to compete but I will do him a favor and help his figure skating club. Is that okay with you?”

 

Victor considers it and says, “Of course. We need the new students but... what if we can reconcile Haru and Rin?”

 

“What?” Yuuri stares at him.

 

Victor stands and explains, “What if... I contact Rin Matsuoka's coach and co-coach him and you coach Haru. If we try, we can get them to make up and your cousin can skate again without feeling guilty. How does that sound?”

 

Yuuri sighs and gives him a dubious look, “To be honest, I'm not fond of Rin for hurting Haru... but if I can get my cousin out of this guilt he has, I'll do it.”

 

“Then let's do it.”

 

The two shake hands on it and Victor gets a mischevious look before declaring, “May the best coach win.”

 

So, this is a contest. Yuuri smirks and says, “You're on. Let's see if we can get a student to Japan Nationals.”

 

…

 

It's been two weeks since Haru sent the email and the only response he got was 'I'll be there as soon as possible' from Yuuri. At least his cousin read the email so that's a plus.

 

What he doesn't expect when heading to practice with Makoto is to get a text from Nagisa with a picture attached. Haru's eyes widen as he sees a picture of his cousin at their rink with his fiance and Nagisa is frantically texting him.

 

_Nagisa: OMG WE HAVE TWO LIVING LEGENDS AT OUR RINK_

 

 

_Nagisa: AND ONE OF THEM SAYS HE'S YOUR COUSIN_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't believe I'm doing a second chapter of this. I promised myself no more new wips but I did it anyway. Bad me. Regardless, having fun reading this trainwreck for as long as I decide to update it. I tried to write the skating scenes for all the characters but I was a little lazy! 
> 
> If I put a link in the middle of the text, it's supposed to be a song that I used for reference when writing a skating scene.

It didn't take long for Haru and Makoto to end up at the rink. Sure enough, Katsuki Yuuri and Victor Nikiforov were there, seeming to enjoy themselves as they skate around the rink gracefully. At the rink side, Nagisa, Rei, and Gou just stare in amazement at the sight of their idols skating on the ice they skate on themselves.

 

When Nagisa spots Haru, he demands animately, “Why didn't you tell us Katsuki-san was your cousin!? Even more, why is he here?”

 

Haru gives a non-commital shrug since he is shocked himself at the chain of events unfolding. Makoto chuckles nervously when Nagisa gives him an expectant gaze, prompting Haru to explain, “Well... I did write my cousin an email about the state of our club. I didn't expect him to come to our help so quickly.”

 

Gou is the next to pop in and say, “But seriously, he's your cousin? No wonder you have more talent than the rest of us. It must be genetic.” Rei cannot even speak. He's admired Katsuki's beauty and grace on the ice even before he started skating and is just in pure awe of the whole situation as he watches Yuuri perform a triple axel to get praise from Victor.

 

The five teammates line up along the rink wall as their guests skate over and greet them. Victor goes first, heart-shaped smile and all, greeting in accented Japanese, “Nice to meet you all! I'm Victor and I will be your part-time coach along with my fiance!”

 

On cue, Yuuri adds, “It's a pleasure to be here. I'm Katsuki Yuuri and I'm here to coach your team,” When he's met with silence from the Iwatobi team, Yuuri scratches his neck and nervously continues, “M-My cousin is on your team... Haru told me you're having money troubles and your school isn't supporting you so I thought I could help. I've seen all of you skate on your Youtube and I believe most of you have potential for the senior division.” Yuuri seems to calm when Victor rests a hand on his back, providing support.

 

Gou raises her hand. Yuuri acknowledges her and she asks, “Have you talked to our current coach already?”

 

Yuuri nods, “Sasabe-san said I would be more help than he is, so I assume that's a yes from him that I can coach you all.”

 

Rei nervously raises a hand and asks, “H-How long are you going to coach us?”

 

“Until the next season is over... So, you have me until the next off-season next year,” Yuuri says.

 

Victor chimes in as he hugs Yuuri from behind, making the other man blush, “Don't worry about the coaching fee, we're volunteering our time.”

 

That shocks them all and Makoto insists, “Y-You can't do that! There has to be some way we can pay you,” He thinks quick and offers, “We still have money left in out club's budget. We can pay you with-”

 

“Tachibana-san, I'm volunteering my time because you're my cousin's team. We're doing this for ourselves more than anything,” Yuuri assures.

 

Nagisa comments, “So we owe Haru for getting you here to coach us?” Haru feels uncomfortable under everyone's gaze but soon their attention is caught when Yuuri nods.

 

There's awkward silence again and Yuuri visibly is the one most uncomfortable with it. Victor seems to notice and carries the conversation for him, inquiring the others, “Would you all be willing to show us your skating? Nanase-san gave us an idea of your ability but we'd like to see it for ourselves. Get your skates on and let's begin!”

 

As if breaking the spell freezing them to their places, everyone goes to get their skates on besides Makoto and Haru. Haru stares at his cousin until Yuuri sighs and says, “... You really didn't expect me to arrive, did you?”

 

Haru shakes his head and Yuuri rubs the bridge of his nose in frustration. Victor senses this is a conversation for them only and goes off to find the others. Even if he's a little frustrated at Haru's non-committal attitude, Yuuri fakes a smile and asks, “Will you try to work with me? I know this is asking a lot but the real reason I'm here is that I want to see you compete again.”

 

“I'm not going to compete. I invited you here to coach the others-”

 

“I know that, Haruka,” Haru winces at Yuuri using his real name, knowing he only does that when he's serious about something, “But... try to work with me. Your school is going to want to see improvement from all the team members. I know this because I've already talked to your school. They know you haven't been competing, Haru, and it's giving them the incentive to cut the club if all the members don't pull their weight.”

 

Makoto gasps at the revelation in place of Haru's shock. He never considered he was part of the problem. He always figured it was funding on everyone's end and the lack of medals from the rest of the team, not his own lack of participation. As this seems to get their attention, Yuuri sighs and says, “All I'm going to ask is that you consider competing right now... no guarantees. We can work something out but I'd love to see you show your talent again, cousin.”

 

Conflicted, Haru simply nods. Makoto seems a little relieved at Haru's acceptance before Yuuri tells them, “Get your skates on, I want to see what you can do.”

 

…

 

Once they all have their skates on, Yuuri meets them out on the center of the ice and has them line up again. It's nerve-wracking to be in the presence of a world-class skater for most of them but at the same time they're still in awe that Haru could be related to such a man. Haru could care less, wanting this to be over with so he can go home and rethink his life choices about inviting his cousin to teach them. Victor watches from the rinkside by the music player, ready to play whatever is on their club playlist when needed.

 

Yuuri claps his hands together and asks, “Well! Which one of you wants to show me one of your programs first? Surely, you're all prepared for the competition coming up in a month and a half?” He's met with silence and has to sigh and say, “Okay... Then can you all at least show me a program? Even an old one you think would work for the season?”

 

Most of them are reluctant to show their skating skills out of lack of confidence... except Nagisa. The bubbly young man immediately raises his hand and says, “Me! I'm improving my short program for the upcoming season. Wanna see?”

 

It's a wave of relief for the group and Yuuri nods. Nagisa quickly shouts to Victor what song on the playlist to get ready to play,[ a short k-pop song with male vocals](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-wFp43XOrA). They all skate to the rink edge so Nagisa has room to skate. They watch as Nagisa sets his starting position in the middle of the ice. He's set in a mid-action pose with his body stretched out awkwardly but you can tell it's purposeful. The music begins with a countdown by the singer, prompting Nagisa to mime the numbers as they count down. When the vocals burst out throughout the rink, that's when Nagisa's explosive energy plays well into his skating as he glides into his beginning step sequence.

 

Yuuri watches analytically, which would add to their unease if they weren't locked on how much fun Nagisa is having on the ice. The most impressive parts of the Nagisa's performance is how clean his jumps are and how timed his mimeing is to the music, obviously inspired by ballet despite it's contrast to the upbeat pop music. They clap when Nagisa lands his triple Flip-triple Toe Loop combination even if it's a bit under-rotated on the Toe Loop. The performance isn't perfect but it would be probably one of the best that Nagisa has ever done.

 

Nagisa ends his skates in a crossed arm position and it's quiet throughout the rink until Yuuri says, “That was great! However, you under-rotated that Toe Loop a bit and your mimeing was a bit contradictory to your music choice in a couple parts.”

 

This makes Nagisa pout as he skates over but he doesn't disagree. When he's close enough, Yuuri pats him on the shoulder and reassures, “Good job.” Nagisa lights up a bit but still seems disappointed from the criticism.

 

Yuuri looks over the group and asks, “Who is next?”

 

Looking amongst themselves and with Haru's encouragement, Makoto skates over to Victor to tell him his music choice before taking center ice. Makoto's eyes meet Haru's, wordlessly asking him to watch him skate. Haru blinks in surprise because Makoto rarely gives him that determined look. All eyes are on Makoto has he takes center ice and gets into his starting position; Makoto is on one knee with his forehead to his knee, sort of in a ball on the ice.

 

When the music begins with light piano accompanied by a bass drop, Makoto shoots up and back skates into a rhythmic motion before the [duet of a male and female voice begins](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icdmsi2E5-M). Haru's eyes are wide and he can feel Gou knowingly smile at him... because this song is Haru and Makoto's song. This is the song that started playing one night while they were on a date and became their theme instantly. It must be what Makoto has picked for his free skate this season, being his short program is a generic opera piece.

 

Haru can see Makoto occasionally mouth the words through his step sequence and Haru's heart swells. At the beginning of the chorus, Makoto lands an under-rotated triple Axel but otherwise skates beautifully. Haru doesn't miss the way Makoto looks at him lovingly when the lyrics 'I'll be there, by your side' play.

 

Makoto attempts two quads in total during the performance; the first on is a Loop and it's under-rotated with a bit of a two-footed landing. On the second quad in the final chorus, they all cringe as Makoto falls pretty badly doing a Toe Loop. He gets up, at least, and isn't hurt, able to finish his program. His final spins are a bit sloppy from fatigue but he's able to end with his legs crossed and his hands clutching his own wrists in front of him in symbolism of togetherness.

 

Makoto pants as they all clap. Nagisa shouts, “That was wonderful, Mako-chan!” Makoto skates back over, obviously disappointed with his own skate. Haru gives him a comforting look, trying to communicate that it's okay. Makoto gives Haru a weak smile but the sadness is still there... but for Haru, the love Makoto portrayed in his skating was all that he needed.

 

Yuuri hums in thought and asks, “Makoto, were you nervous while skating?”

 

Makoto looks at him and admits, “Yeah... That song is important for me and Haru and I wanted to impress you... but I failed my quads-”

 

“That's okay, Tachibana-san,” Yuuri encourages, “The fact you made an effort to land quads is amazing. You just need to practice calming yourself when you get nerves. Even I had trouble with quads just a couple years ago and I still made it somehow to the Grand Prix Final.”

 

Victor puts in, “But you placed sixth that year-”

 

“Shut up, Victor. Don't remind me.” Yuuri is deadpan saying that, obviously reliving the experience in his head for a few moments before continuing with Makoto, “You can get better. If I can, so can you.”

 

Makoto nods and goes back to his spot next to Haru. The two share a smile and Haru decides to ask later why Makoto kept his free program for next season so secret.

 

Yuuri looks between Rei, Gou and Haru, urging them to decide who goes next. Gou and Rei do rock-paper-scissors because Haru looks away from them meaning an obvious 'no'. They do three rounds and finally, Rei loses to paper. Gou fist pumps her victory while Rei is left to say, “Katsuki-san... I only have a short program prepared, may I skate that?” Yuuri nods.

 

After that, Rei skates to a [strictly piano and violin piece](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIn4NK22CBs). He lands his doubles a bit sloppily than normal but his spins are what set him apart from the others. In fact, Haru notices that Victor and Yuuri have their attention locked on Rei during his spins as if they're jealous of his ability. In fact, Victor inquires after he skates, “Who taught you to spin?”

 

Rei wipes the sweat from his brow, “Coach Sasabe and then I used videos of other skaters to improve my technique on my own, why?”

 

Yuuri says, “Those were some the best spins I've been in a long time. If we work on your jumps in the next few months and work you up to triple jumps, you could compete!”

 

Rei gets shy but smiles at the compliments. Haru knows they're holding back criticism because Rei is newer to skating than the rest of them and because they want Rei to be encouraged woth his above-average spinning but Haru wonders if they're helping Rei by not commenting on his jumps.

 

Next, it's a toss up whether Gou or Haru goes next... of course, Haru is stubborn so Gou goes instead. She has a smirk as she shows Victor which track she wants to skate to. Victor is confused but gets the track ready anyway. Victor and Yuuri are baffled by how much Gou changes in demeanor when she gets into her starting position but the rest of the team isn't. Out of them all, Gou is an actress once she's on the ice. She becomes the character she's portraying every time.

 

Gou's starting position is a hand on her cheek with a narrow gaze towards them; her other hand on her hip. When the music begins, a mixture of reactions comes from the team at her song choice. The song she picked is an [opening theme to a BL game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW0P43m80Ys) they all played as a group out of curiosity and they can tell it's going to be her short program for the season. Nagisa seems excited to see the routine while Rei is scrunching his nose at the music choice. Makoto simply smiles because Haru knows Makoto enjoyed that game more than he wants to admit. The song is unique with a waltz rhythm, making it barely qualify for competition standards.

 

As she moves on the ice, she mimes the tale of the protagonist from the game being conflicted with his own mind and reality. She comes upon her first jump, a double Axel. She skates back into it, launching herself off the front of her blade and landing on the opposite foot as clean as ever. They all clap for her.

 

Her step sequence is enchanting, really pulling them into the story of a character battling with their mind, but they can tell she's getting anxious. They see her set up for the next jump and her teammates cringe because they know exactly which one she's trying to do; the triple Lutz. Makoto can't even watch as she attempts and fails the jump. At least, she's on her feet quickly and back into her program. Haru can't help but sigh. He can see that Victor and Yuuri's eyes are locked on her though... as if there's potential they can see.

 

Her combination spin goes as planned, being a very good spinner as well. Regardless, it's her last combination jump that has Haru on edge. Haru has watched her do this jump in competition and can't wait to see Yuuri's reaction to it. She lines herself up, launching into a triple Salchow then barely managing the double Toe Loop cleanly. Haru almost smirks at everyone's amazement. If she had done a Flip instead of a Lutz, it would have been almost like her program she won Regionals with but he can tell she's trying to upgrade her program with the Lutz.

 

With her final spin, Gou poses on one knee with her hands on her head to end her program. Her teammates clap while Victor and Yuuri share a look as if they're wondering if the other is thinking the same thing.

 

Gou skates over and asks, “How did I do?”

 

“Aside from the fall on the Lutz and the sloppy Toe Loop, you did well... Your music choice is unique as well.” Yuuri comments and Gou nods, not disagreeing as she rejoins the line.

 

They all look at Haru one last time and it's obvious... Haru is going to refuse to skate. His teammates sigh, expecting this to happen but it seems Yuuri and Victor have different ideas.

 

Yuuri crosses his arms and says, “Haru, you invited me here to help you. Will you please indulge me this once?”

 

“If I do it once, you'll expect me to do it again. The answer is no. You're here for my team, not me.” Haru rebels.

 

Victor tries to help by threatening, “If we're coaching your teammates, then we can order you off the ice during our practice times-”

 

“Fine, I'll skate in the late evenings then.” Haru crosses his arms in defiance.

 

Makoto tries to reason, “But Haru, your mother said you can't skate in the evenings anymore because of school!”

 

Haru gets the last word, “I can do my homework in the mornings now I can't skate with the rest of you, can't I?”

 

That silences Makoto but immediately Haru feels guilt because Makoto and the others are giving him the look of kicked puppies. He's essentially saying he'll quit the team... fuck. How petty can he get?

 

Surprisingly, Yuuri sighs and uncrosses his arms to come to his defense, “Victor, we can't get rid of him otherwise the team won't have enough club members to keep their school club afloat. If he doesn't want to be coached by us, we can't force him...”

 

Victor pouts and seems defeated his threat didn't work but the team relaxes. Yuuri decides not to push the issue and ask them all, “After the performances you showed me... what would you say your main goals are now?” He looks at them in order to answer.

 

Nagisa answers, “I want to learn a quad!”

 

Makoto, “I want to spin better and raise my jump consistency.”

 

Rei, “... I could be better at step sequences and jumps.”

 

Gou answers confidently, “I want to learn a triple Lutz.”

 

When they all look at Haru, Haru reluctantly answers, “... I want to learn to skate for myself.”

 

The answer surprises them all except Yuuri, who understands that it's been a long time since Haru has skated for himself.

 

Seeming satisfied, Yuuri claps his hands and gets their attention, “Alright! Since we've used most of this practice time up already, the first order of business will be this,” The faces of the team drop when Yuuri says, “For the rest of practice, we're getting off the ice and we're going to start running laps around the rink to build your stamina... Also, I'm going to need all your parent's contact information in case there's an emergency.”

 

That's how the rest of practice is spent. While they're off the ice and suffering running laps, Yuuri and Victor start making phone calls to parents to inform them of the change of coaching. Of course, no parents could complain about having a champion coach their children. However, Haru could tell his teammates were starting to reconsider how their life came to this point the longer they spend running.

 

…

 

That night while Haru is doing homework, he texts Makoto from his room since tonight is one of the nights Makoto has promised to be with his family.

 

_Haru: Did I make the right choice inviting my cousin here?_

 

There's a long pause as he waits for Makoto to reply. Haru has a few regrets about the whole situation, especially almost backing himself into the corner of leaving the team until his cousin stepped in. Soon, there's a reply and Haru is relieved by the answer.

 

_Makoto: I think you did. Katsuki-san is a generous man and will be what we need to get the team in shape... but Haru, please don't threaten to leave the team again. We both know you love skating too much to do that, right?_

 

_Haru: … Yeah, I won't do that again. I'm sorry._

 

Makoto never replies back, which doesn't concern Haru too much since Makoto has his own homework to do.

 

However, the longer Haru sits there and thinks about it, a seed of suspicion grows in his mind. Haru isn't sure why... but he wonders why his cousin really agreed to come to Japan and teach them.

 

…

 

“Are you fucking kidding me? Victor and Katsudon went back to Japan to coach some highschoolers?” Yuri questions as he's reading a Tumblr post about the situation. Sure, he knew that the couple left on a 'business trip' but he never thought it would be to fuck off for a planned several months. That's bullshit in Yuri's eyes.

 

Mila sips her coffee at the rinkside while reading the post over his shoulder and says, “Yeah, rumor says it's his cousin's team, too.”

 

Yuri almost throws his phone in frustration because Victor (once again) promised he'd choreograph a routine for him and here he is screwing off to Japan to coach some nobody skaters... but it's almost expected at this point so there's no point getting too angry over it. All Yuri can do is sigh angrily and read the Tumblr post over again:

 

_katsuki-for-life-bruh:_

 

_Hey guys, I'm back from my month-long hiatus and I have some exciting news!_

 

_Katsuki Yuuri and Victor Nikiforov have been spotted in Japan and, when questioned by reporters, are taking some new students under their wing ( source here)._

 

_When questioned about their students, Victor stated, “We've decided on these students because Yuuri insisted he get to teach his cousin's team. As for me, I will be assisting the Samezuka skating team as well.”_

 

_Of course, Victor was questioned about his choice in skating a rival school's team, rival to alleged Katsuki's cousin's team at Iwatobi high, he responded, “What's life without a little competition? Yuuri and I want to see who can train the best student!”_

 

_From the roster I found on the Iwatobi high website, the team members are decorated with Junior Regionals titles and even a Junior Nationals appearance. I'll even introduce them!_

 

_Tachibana Makoto - 4th place at Junior Regionals last season, one bronze medal in Junior Regionals (and he's a cutie)._

 

_Hazuki Nagisa - 7th at Junior Regionals last season, has won silver at the Iwatobi Juniors competition. Has a Youtube channel with the rest of the team members! Check it out here._

 

_Ryuugazaki Rei – I couldn't find much information about him other than to know he can land doubles. Beautiful spinner from what I've seen in the videos on the team's Youtube. (I ship him with Hazuki-kun <3 They make such cute ice dance videos together)_

 

_Matsuoka Gou - Won gold at Junior Regionals and was 9th at Japan Junior Nationals. Sister to the Australian Junior Nationals champion Matsuoka Rin. Lemme tell you this; this girl can land triple-triple combos and I would die for her in a heartbeat. She deserves a national title, dammit ;-;_

 

_Nanase Haruka – Won silver at Junior Regionals a couple years back and is decorated with Juniors gold medals for local competitions but mysteriously stopped competing after a fight with Matsuoka Rin ( source here, these two are rumored to be rivals). Is confirmed to be Katsuki Yuuri's cousin when Nikiforov was asked about him. _

 

_I don't know about all of you but I have a feeling that Japan's skating scene is going to change drastically with the new talent being coached under Katsuki and Nikiforov. Let's keep our eyes peeled on these new skaters!_

 

_Tags: #figure skating #victor nikiforov #katsuki yuuri #victuuri #news #i have new ships now #nagisa x rei #need to come up with ship names_

 

Yuri asks Mila, “What does Yakov think about all this? He was half-expecting them to skate another season.”

 

Before Mila can even answer that, Yakov appears from around the corner and answers, “I don't care anymore. Yuuri is just as impulsive as Vitya and there's no point in telling them no when this is a chance for them to develop their resume as coaches.”

 

Mila quirks an eyebrow at Yuri as if to say 'does that answer your question?' and sips her coffee some more. Yakov is looking over a clipboard and says, “Both of you should be on the ice, hurry up and get skating.”

 

They nod, heading to get their skates. On the way, Mila says, “Think of it this way, Yuri. They'll be training the next wave of competition for you on the ice. Means you finally have a reason to skate even harder than before.”

 

“... I guess you're right,” Yuuri answers, deep in thought. Yuri doesn't like to admit it... but skating isn't as fun as it used to be. Shaking his mind free of distractions, Yuri gets his skates on and heads out onto the ice to start preparing for the skating season ahead.

 

…

 

Several days have passed since the first practice they had with Yuuri. On the walks home from practice, Haru and Makoto notice that the press is lingering around their routes home in hopes of an interview but the two manage to take a different route in order to avoid talking to anyone. At the rink, Yuuri manages to hold the press' attention but the teammates are on their own once they start heading home.

 

There's relief when they finally see their homes and part ways. When no one is looking, Makoto gives Haru a kiss on the cheek before going into his own home. Haru feels warm inside and lingers until Makoto is completely out of sight, leaving to go to his own home next door.

 

Haru makes his way up the steps and stops when he gets to his front door. The door is slightly ajar... who left it open?

 

Haru narrows his eyes suspiciously and cautiously goes inside. At first, the house seems empty. Maybe he did leave the door open when leaving the house earlier and curses himself... until he catches a glimpse of someone on the couch. He peeks into the room and sighs in relief when he sees who is there. It's Yuuri.

 

Yuuri must have left the door open but it's odd to see him here in his home. His cousin is sitting there, looking jittery, and perks up when Haru comes into sight. Yuuri says, “Welcome home, Haru... Can we talk?”

 

Haru considers it for only a couple moments before nodding and jerking his head to get Yuuri to follow him into the kitchen. Yuuri seems to understand, getting up and following. Just as if it's any other night, Haru gets a pan heating up on the stove and getting some mackeral ready to fry. Yuuri kinda just awkwardly watches until Haru motions to the fridge, encouraging him to help. Yuuri rummages through the fridge and finds vegetables in the almost barren fridge to chop.

 

“How often do you go to the store?”

 

Haru mutters back, “Once a week. I get enough to feed myself and Makoto unless my mother is taking time off from work. Father usually gets food elsewhere.”

 

Yuuri hums in understanding. He know Haru's family works hard, leaving Haru by himself often but they're in no way bad parents. Yuuri finds it amazing they're kind enough to keep funding Haru's endevors in figure skating even though he's no competing anymore... which Yuuri wants to fix.

 

Yuuri chops up lettuce and carrots so they can be steamed in the microwave. By the time the vegetables are done, the mackeral is done and they're seated at the small table with a plate of food each. Both put their hands together and say thanks for the food before digging in. It's quiet for awhile as they eat; Haru hopes they can just eat quietly and avoid conversation.

 

“... Your mother said I could stay the night, so we have all night to talk about what I want to say.” Yuuri informs.

 

Haru looks up from his meal and says, “Then go ahead and ask. What do you want?” He knows how rude he sounds in tone but he doesn't care.

 

Yuuri sighs and says, “I want to talk about what happened with Matsuoka Rin.”

 

Haru sets his chopsticks down and stares irritatedly as him. Yuuri recoils a bit and explains, “Look, I know it's because of Rin why you stopped competing... but I know you haven't lost your drive to skate. I want to know why you still skate now and,” He pauses and sighs, “... and I want to see what drives you so I can convince you to skate competitively again. I want you to answer honestly. Why do you still skate if you don't bother with competition?”

 

Haru props his head up with his elbow and decides it's not worth arguing about. So, he replies, “I skate... because I don't want to disappoint my team,” He pauses before adding, “Specifically, I skate to make Makoto smile. He got me started in skating and I don't want to make him sad... when it comes to Rin, I broke my promise that I would skate for him and I failed him. In hidnsight, I should have been skating for both of them, not just Makoto.”

 

Yuuri knew that Haru was skating for Makoto but never knew about the part that he made a promise to Rin. He knew Rin and Haru were friends and assumed the fight was over medal placements but he was totally wrong. Yuuri cautiously asks, “What if you skate for both of them and make up for that mistake?”

 

Haru crosses his arms, “Rin said he hated me. He wants nothing to do with me.”

 

“Are you sure he still feels that way?”

 

Haru uncrosses his arms. In fact, Haru is sure Rin does not care anymore by the fact he continued skating... while Haru is sitting here in his own pity pool. If anything, he's pissed off the more he thinks about it.

 

That makes Yuuri smirk and point out, “Remember what he said to you before?”

 

“He said he wasn't going to skate anymore and yet he goes on to win Australian nationals.”

 

“Exactly,” Yuuri says, “How does that make you feel?”

 

Haru surprises Yuuri by saying, “But he didn't look happy while skating...”

 

“Huh?” Yuuri blinks in confusion.

 

Haru clenches his fists and seems to calm, oddly enough, before saying, “Rin looked miserable on the ice... Do you think it's possible that he's depressed without me to skate against?”

 

Quick to realize this is his chance to get Haru to skate again, he answers without being sure, “Maybe he is... wouldn't you want to find out? “

 

Haru seems to consider it and says, “I would... as long as I can still skate for Makoto. I'll compete.”

 

Yuuri is ecstatic on the inside but simply responds in a coachly manner with, “That's great. We can get started on your short and free program once you have an idea how you want to incorporate those two into your performance and after a couple weeks of training to get you in shape.”

 

Before Haru can add to the conversation, Yuuri finishes with, “Also... I want you to skate for yourself too. You're not just skating for others anymore, okay?”

 

It takes Haru a minute but he nods, realizing this is his chance to rediscover himself... for once, maybe skating won't feel as forced as it usually does.

 

“I'll try my best to help you, Haru. You're my cousin and I'd do almost anything for you.”

 

“I know.”

 

After that, the two quietly finish dinner but the sentiment from before still remains. That night, Haru is so excited he almost doesn't sleep.

 

…

 

With a deep breath, Matsuoka Rin launches himself into a flying sit spin and does his final combination spin of his new program. When he poses in the end, he's panting heavily and hoping to have impressed his new coach. He was the last of his teammates to show off his free skate so their new coach has an idea what he's working with... but with long moments of silence, he begins to wonder what's going on in the head of the man.

 

When their coach finally speaks, they all deflate in confidence as Victor Nikiforov says, “Looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me if you all are going to be better than the Iwatobi team.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a struggle to write this chapter (due to personal problems irl) but here we are. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. Thank you for reading.

All the Samezuka team can do is stare at their new coach as he just said they were behind the progress of the Iwatobi team.

 

“What the hell do you mean? We've been training really hard!” Rin tries to defend his teammates.

 

Victor taps his chin in thought and adds, “With the skating I just saw, you either don't want me here or lack the motivation to skate like yourselves.” With that, eyes widen before the gazes of the rest of the team scatter to other directions in order not to look at Victor. So, Victor hit the nail on the head of the problem.

 

Victor looks over his new pupils with interest. The four main skaters of the club in front of him are decorated with local juniors medals but have yet to make a senior debut but the key difference between them and Iwatobi is that their school is not threatening to shut down their club.

 

Of course, Victor has gotten to know Rin well enough from Yuuri but wants to know more as he noticed a sadness to the young redhead's skating even when trying to portray a cheerful song. For the other teammates, Victor wants to get down the bottom of why they aren't performing their best. Yamazaki Sousuke, a tall young man with black hair, seemed to skate with a stiff posture that Victor knows can be worked on but senses something he's not sure of when the boy watches Rin skate. Nitori Aiichirou is very short with silver hair like his own and seems to have difficulty getting height on his jumps, landing quads and landing Axels but he has a tenseness to him as well. Lastly, Mikoshiba Momotarou is the most energetic of the bunch with orange hair but his skating seems like he's just moving through the motions, not feeling the music.

 

Overall, Victor decides to ask them, “... I know the answer for Rin but what about the rest of you, are you happy with your skating career so far?”

 

Rin seems like he wants to complain for the assumption being made about him but Victor's gaze first settles on Sousuke, who blinks but answers, “... I'm not. I'm only in singles now because my pairs' partner quit skating and I can land a quad Toe Loop. I feel... lost.”

 

Victor looks at Nitori, who answers, “I just wish I could land quads like Rin and Sousuke...”

 

Momotarou seems annoyed and answers, “Of course I'm not! I don't want to do singles. I wanted to go into pairs or ice dance and skate with cute girls!” Nitori flicks Momotarou in the shoulder for that.

 

Victor taps his chin again and thinks it over. So, one skater feels lost because he's new to singles, one wishes he could catch up to his upperclassmen and the third wants to work as a team instead of as an individual. Now that his skaters are being honest, Victor feels like he's actually getting somewhere.

 

“Well,” Victor smiles as he says this, “Sousuke-san, do you want to go back to pairs? I can arrange a partner for you and still train you and your partner.”

 

Sousuke is surprised but shakes his head, “No, I just need guidance in singles, please.”

 

Victor nods and asks Nitori, “Are you willing to do leg conditioning and weight training four to five days a week?”

 

“Yes, why?” Nitori asks but then realizes it's for his jumps to be higher, “Oh...”

 

Victor chuckles a bit before asking Momotarou, “So, I'll find you a partner to skate with?”

 

Momotarou seems to light up as if someone gave him ice cream, “Of course! You're the best coach ever!”

 

“Okay, then I'll ask you three to start training while I speak with Matsuoka-san about his goals. Do you mind leaving the ice to do twenty laps around the rink?” Victor asks the three and they give him a dubious look. They're curious what Victor has to say to Rin but decide it's best to follow directions of their coach and nod before leaving the ice so Rin and Victor are alone.

 

When they're alone, Rin wastes no time to say, “Look, I know why you're here.”

 

Victor raises his eyebrows and Rin almost growls, “Just because I'm the Australian Junior Champion doesn't mean I'm going to let you just waltz into my life as a coach. I can handle my senior debut by myself.”

 

With that, the rink feels creepily tense even with them being the only two people there. Victor is no longer smiling because he realizes Rin doesn't understand why he's actually here other than to be his coach. Victor lets Rin continue, the young redhead sternly adding, “You might as well leave if you think you can help me improve... I'm doing fine on my own.”

 

Just as Rin is about to skate off, Victor asks, “... Then why did you turn your planned quad Salchow into a Toe Loop during your practices?”

 

Rin stops and looks back at Victor as he continues, “Why is it you seem like you're being fake on the ice when I watched your previous competitions the past couple years? Why... Why did you look like you struggled to smile when you won that gold medal at Australian Junior Nationals? You can be honest with me.” Victor doesn't need to hear the answer to know part of the problem but insists anyway.

 

Rin's emotions start out as confusion but turn into anger and offense as he demands, “How do you- It's none of your business! I don't want you as my coach so it doesn't mean anything to you!” Rin turns his back to him and continues, “... Besides, I'm doing fine by myself. As soon as I can land my quads soundly, I will surpass _him_ anyway.”

 

“Nanase Haruka?” Victor asks and Rin stares at him wide-eyed. Victor says, “I've heard from my sweet fiance about your feud with his cousin...”

 

Rin seems like he wants to get furious but instead 'tsks' and crosses his arms as he answers, “It's really none of your business but... Skating hasn't been as fun since he basically snubbed me.”

 

“Snubbed you?”

 

Rin animately throws his arms in the air for a second and rants, “That asshole promised he'd skate for me! That we'd skate for each other! Sure, we were kids but I took it to heart!” Rin's expression grows somber as he explain, “He was my best friend, my rival. I always thought it would be that way but... he forgot about me. I almost quit skating but my dream to be an Olympian is stronger than the heartache. I want to make up with Haru but I think I already fucked that up. So... if I seem sad on the ice, that's why. I still feel so empty when skating...”

 

That last part rings true with Victor before Yuuri came into his life. He understands that feeling and can sympathize with Rin.

 

“Matsuoka-san... what if you tried to make up with Haruka through skating?” Victor tries to offer and Rin is immediately suspicious.

 

“... Haru is going to start skating competitively again, isn't he?”

 

Victor nods and Rin growls, “Dammit! This is just some plot you and Katsuki have, isn't it?!”

 

Victor shrugs and comments, “Take it as you may, I want to coach you because I feel like you're going down a wrong path for the goals you have. How do you expect to make it to the Olympics when you haven't even won nationals in your senior debut yet? How do you expect to go against skaters that have followed in the footsteps of my fiance?” Victor leans in closer, “How do you expect to win when your rival is being coached by Japan's previous Ace?”

 

Rin doesn't have an answer for that, simply wordless and hangs his head in thought.

 

Victor asks, “Will you let me be your coach now?”

 

“Do I even have a choice? You have a compelling argument,” When Victor is quiet, Rin gets annoyed and finishes with, “Of course! Be my coach, I don't give a fuck anymore.”

 

Victor's signature heart-shaped smile appears with glee and suddenly asks, “Do you want to see pictures of my dog?”

 

Rin blinks, confused by the sudden topic change, “What?”

 

Already getting his phone out, Victor restates, “I'm going to show you pictures of my dog. That should cheer you up now that the serious conversation is over.”

 

Rin wants to complain but just sighs and lets Victor show him pictures of Makkachin before the other teammates return from their run. Rin will admit that Victor's dog is cute and feels a little better.

 

The others are panting when they arrive, Nitori shouts out to them, “Are you done talking yet?”

 

Victor replies back, “Yes! In fact, I have a stretching warm-up for all of you before we even start training on the ice!”

 

Even Rin groans at that and they start to question if having Victor as a coach is a good idea.

 

…

 

The hotel room Victor and Yuuri share is comfortable. There are two beds pushed together and the contents of both of their luggage are scattered about. The two have yet to make plans for to stay in an apartment together since the decision to coach in Japan was on short notice but the two are getting by.

 

Right now, Yuuri is flopped on his back on his bed while Victor is grooming himself in front of the vanity mirror. It's been a long day and the two have a lot to talk about when it comes to their new students.

 

“Vitya, how was your day?” Yuuri asks first, sitting up to rest against the headboard instead so he can see his fiance.

 

Victor smiles in the mirror from what Yuuri can see, “It was great. I learned a lot about the Samezuka team... How's the Iwatobi team?”

 

“They're doing great. They need a lot of work but we've figured out their music choices for their short and free programs, Nagisa is making some progress with getting faster in his revolutions during jumps and Haru is getting better at his quad Salchow now that he's actually determined to try,” Yuuri locks eyes with Victor in the mirror, “Tell me about your team.”

 

There's a smirk from Victor, “So, you want to know what your competition is like?”

 

“It's not a competition if there's nothing to compete for. Sure, there's a national title at stake but you and I never set a wager.” Yuuri points out, giving a knowing look.

 

Victor turns to face Yuuri and snorts, “You're not wrong. We better fix that... after I tell you about my team,” Victor makes his way to his bed and lays on his side facing Yuuri before saying, “They're a nice bunch. One of them used to be in pairs skating and another one of them wants to be in pairs instead... I met Rin.”

 

“What is he like?” Yuuri turns to lay on his side as well.

 

“He reminds me a bit of myself and of Yurio at the same time,” Victor says.

 

“How so?” Yuuri inquires, curious now how he's like Yuri and Victor.

 

“Well, he's depressed with skating like I was the last few years of my career from what I've observed and he has a standoffish nature like Yurio.”

 

“Standoffish is an understatement but okay,” Yuuri adds, amused. That makes Victor chuckle a bit.

 

“Well, anyway, he seems like an alright guy. I got him to accept me as his coach and hopefully, I'll have him skating happily again.” Victor finishes and scoots closer, obviously wanting to cuddle. Yuuri indulges him and they entangle with each other in the middle of their beds pushed together. For a while, they lay there in each others' company. They've been busy so this alone time is valued.

 

When Yuuri is almost asleep, Victor wonders aloud, “How crazy are your students' music choice? I wonder how crazy mine will be...”

 

Yuuri snorts, his eyes closed as he comments, “My students are skating to a mix of k-pop, slow j-pop love songs, and yaoi game soundtrack. I made them choose more reasonable content for their free skates.”

 

“Let me guess, Swan Lake? Moulin Rouge?” Victor teases.

 

Yuuri rolls his eyes sleepily before replying, “Maybe, you'll have to see for yourself... I'm concerned about Ryugazaki-san. I don't think he'll have triples down before the competition season... Do you think he'll be upset if he can't compete on the senior level this season?”

 

Victor shakes his head and assures, “He's new and he knows it. If anything, he'll be relieved you didn't throw him out there to his own devices,” Victor strokes Yuuri's hair in comfort, sensing Yuuri is getting anxious thoughts by his tone, “Really, you're going to be a great coach and I'll help out with choreography. Don't worry so much.”

 

“... You promise?”

 

“I promise,” Victor assures again. With that, Yuuri smiles and leans up so the two can share a peck on the lips. They gaze at each other and their lips meet again; this time, they wrap their arms around each other and Yuuri's lips part when Victor moves in for more.

 

When they pull apart for air, Victor has Yuuri pinned under him with his hand gently holding Yuuri's wrists. By the way Yuuri licks his lips, Victor can tell Yuuri isn't disagreeing with their position but still asks, “Would you like more?”

 

“Oh, yes. Give me your all, Vitya.” Yuuri encourages and Victor obliges.

 

That night, not much time is spent sleeping even though they have coaching in the morning.

 

…

 

In a Discord group chat of the Iwatobi team:

 

_Nagisa: It's been two and a half weeks and I still can't believe we have Katsuki Yuuri, HARU'S COUSIN AND FUCKING LEGEND, as our coach._

 

_Haru: You're still freaking out? Even Rei and Makoto are used to having him around by now._

 

_Makoto: To be honest, I'm still a bit in shock but Yuuri-san is nice. He's very welcoming._

 

_Rei: I agree, Katsuki-san is kind. We've made so much progress only after two weeks._

 

_Nagisa: The sheer amount of working out we've been doing to get to this point is painful though ;-; My legs are still sore from the two sets of 30 squats today and from the falls I took on the ice_

 

_Makoto: Not to mention the diet plan he talked out parents into putting us on... I really hate the vegetable shakes we all have to drink._

 

_Nagisa: Agreed, those things are nasty. I have to add fruit to them to make them even edible_

 

_Gou: Don't even get my started on those shakes... At least you don't drink meat smoothies like my brother._

 

_Nagisa: I think I vomited in my mouth a little._

 

_Rei: Disgusting._

 

_Haru: Gross_

 

_Makoto: I think I'll stick to the spinach smoothies_

 

_Gou: On another topic, have you guys been reading the articles that have been written about Victor and Yuuri? Victor is coaching the Samezuka team and says he plans to pit us against them when we get to regionals._

 

_Makoto: *annoyed* Oh lovely, we have a whole group of skaters that are gonna cream us at competition. Thanks a lot, Nikiforov-san._

 

_Rei: Why should we be worried? The only threat we know of right now is Rin._

 

_Nagisa: Think about it Rei... Victor is a champion five times over and he coached our own coach. He's going to to be training our rivals and that doesn't worry you, babe?_

 

_Rei: Nope._

 

_Haru: We really don't have to worry. If we don't focus on ourselves then we're doomed to lose._

 

_Gou: The Samezuka team doesn't have female members so I don't have any worries. As long as I keep working on my triple Lutz, I'll be fine._

 

_Haru: Gou, if you worked on your consistency you'd have won Junior Nationals. But you keep obsessing on your triple Lutz. I'm surprised my cousin isn't forbidding you from the jump until you can land your triple Toe Loop-Triple Toe Loop combinations down._

 

_Haru: You could compete on the world stage if you were more consistent._

 

_Makoto: Again, Katsuki-san is nice. He wants us to focus on our own goals. That's why all his goals have been centered around us so far._

 

_Gou: I'll be fine :/ I know I need better consistency but that's hard to learn. You should know that yourself, Haru._

 

It's quiet for a few hours after that due to school and practice. Eventually chat starts up again.

 

_Nagisa: You guys... read this Victuuri thing I found._

 

_Haru: No._

 

_Rei: No._

 

_Makoto: … Is it something you wrote yourself, Nagisa?_

 

_Nagisa: Maybe *insert Ao3 link here*_

 

_Gou: Nagisa, that's on YOUR Ao3 account._

 

_Nagisa: You guys are the only ones who read the shit I post :p_

 

_Haru: >clicks link and sees mpreg tag_

 

_Haru: Lol, nope. Not reading it._

 

_Makoto: >Sees mpreg tag_

 

_Makoto: :eyes:_

 

_Nagisa: See you guys, Makoto gets me._

 

_Rei: … I shouldn't be surprised by the shit that shows up in this chat anymore after Gou posted lesbian porn in here._

 

_Gou: One, it's Kou you call me by and two, I didn't mean to share that here that was meant for the different chat._

 

_Gou: I'm reading the fic right now, Nagisa._

 

_Nagisa: Yay, I have two readers now._

 

_Haru: I'm going before my curiosity makes me read your monstrosity. It's bad enough I find fanart of my cousin and his fiance on my tumblr feed because of Makoto and you, Nagisa._

 

_Makoto: They're cute together! I make sure not to share the NSFW stuff!_

 

_Haru: Nagisa straight up shares NSFW so I'm not spared._

 

_Haru: Gonna do homework and work on our costume designs for competition, night_

 

_Rei: Good night, Haruka-senpai_

 

_Nagisa: Night, make my costume pink!_

 

_Makoto: I'm logging off Discord, gonna read that fic later, night._

 

_Gou: Night!_

 

A few minutes pass before anyone messages.

 

_Gou: Now that I remember, you said you wanted to do ice dance, Rei?_

 

_Nagisa: Don't we do ice dance already?_

 

_Rei: I want to do ice dance competitively... but we don't have another female skater on our team. I couldn't ask Gou to leave singles for that._

 

_Nagisa: Why do you want to do it competitively? I thought just us doing it together was enough ;-;_

 

_Rei: It's not you, Nagisa... I've just been thinking about my future as a skater and I don't think I'll be able to catch up to you, Makoto and Haruka. I can barely do doubles when you can do triples almost perfectly._

 

_Rei: Sasabe-san tried to get me into ice dance and I think that's what I need to pursue... is that alright, Nagisa?_

 

_Nagisa: … I guess that's alright. We'll still skate together for our Youtube, right?_

 

_Rei: Of course! But the question is... who do I skate with?_

 

_Gou: Um, I can ask Chigusa. She still skates and needs a male partner to skate with._

 

_Nagisa: Your girlfriend?_

 

_Gou: We're not dating!!_

 

_Gou: But seriously, I'll ask her and we'll introduce her to coach Katsuki to see if he's fine with Rei ice dancing._

 

_Nagisa: Alright... Im gonna be jealous_

 

_Rei: Oh Nagisa, I love you. Don't be jealous._

 

_Gou: I'll leave you two to be lovey-dovey, night._

 

_Nagisa: I'm gonna switch to texting with Rei, night._

 

_Rei: … I'll see you all tomorrow._

 

…

 

A month later after a month of vigorous training...

 

Midsummer is one of the laziest times of the year for Haru normally but, with his cousin there to push him to skate more than ever, he couldn't be more tired. During the past month, it's been constant workouts almost every day as well as practice at the rink. With the sheer amount of squats, sit-ups, and laps he has done, Haru expected more progress than just being able to now land a quad Salchow consistently. He's worked his way up to three quads in his free skate which is an accomplishment when some skaters on the world stage can't even do one but he still feels something is missing. This is his senior debut and he feels he's missing something to make himself the best he can be.

 

Nagisa finally landed a quad Toe Loop. The young man, being the ball of sunshine that he is, bought them all candy to celebrate the occasion and did the same when Makoto worked his way up to two quads in his free skate. Haru feels his teammates are making more progress than he is and for some reason, he isn't happy with that.

 

With only two months until Iwatobi's town competition, Rei excluded himself from the sign-ups for singles skatings. He can't even land triples so Yuuri didn't stop him from excluding himself but it leads to a heart to heart conversation about what Rei wanted to do with skating. In the end, they gained a new teammate named Chigusa Hanamura so Rei and her could start training for ice dance on such short notice.These days, they see Sasabe at the rink more to assist Yuuri with coaching ice dance. According to Sasabe, Rei and Chigusa are naturals at the sport and it seems they'll be ready to compete in a couple months.

 

What worries Haru the most is the distance that has grown between him and Makoto. The only time together they have is on the ice and an occasional text every once in awhile. Due to the amount of training they do and studying for school, there is no time for dates or even for Makoto to spend his evenings at Haru's home. Despite that, every little text does reassure Haru a bit that Makoto isn't forgetting about him and the time they spend going to and from practice with each other is heaven sent.

 

Haru is sketching in his sketchbook. He's almost done with all the designs for their outfits for the skating season. So far, he has Nagisa, Rei and Makoto's outfits sketched for the season but are still working on Gou and Chigusa's outfits. He already he needs to make Chigusa's coordinate with Rei's but he's doing something extra with both Gou and Chigusa's outfits.

 

“How's my outfit going?” Gou surprises Haru by appearing by his side while he works. He looks up at her before she takes a seat next to him on the grass turf. He's tempted to ignore her out of slight shyness but instead gives her a shrug.

 

She looks over at the sketch and comments, “... Why is mine similar to Chisgusa's?”

 

Haru closes his sketchbook and replies, “Don't you have a crush on her?”

 

“... Yes, what about it?” She gets defensive, giving him a dubious look.

 

“I thought making your costumes similar would be symbolic. If she's smart, she'll see the meaning behind the design and go out with you.”

 

Gou averts her eyes from him and bluntly replies, “She's straight.”

 

Haru blinks and responds, “Oh... I'm sorry.”

 

Gou pulls her knees to her chest and confesses, “I told her I loved her and she told me exactly that. She's straight. It was a week before Junior Nationals, too.”

 

A ball of guilt settles in Haru's stomach and he opens his sketchbook before offering, “I can change the design-”

 

“I don't care, Haru. Do what you want...” A silence settles between them after that but neither leaves each others' side. After that, Haru draws the outfit for Gou from scratch and takes inspiration from a female American skater he saw at the Olympics back in February. The difference is that he makes a note to make it dark ocean blue instead of the maroon color the original skater wore it as with a gold, swirling design on the breast of the outfit. He shows it to Gou and she makes him change to gold outlining to a flame-like pattern along the waist instead.

 

What catches Haru's attention is when he sees Makoto come into the courtyard. He's about to call out to him when he sees Makoto talking with another girl. He watches as she's flaunting herself suggestively and Makoto seems oblivious, just laughing along to whatever joke she told. Haru knows it is irrational but a seed of doubt rises in his mind of whether Makoto is bored of him or not.

 

Gou sees how Haru is staring at the girl and Makoto and asks, “You worried she's gonna steal him away?”

 

Haru answers with another question, “With all the time we've spent apart, do you think Makoto is lonely?”

 

As the girl rests a hand on Makoto's arm, Gou responds, “He probably misses you, if you want my honest answer.”

 

Haru is only slightly comforted because he watches Makoto smile widely at the girl as she says her goodbyes. Haru's heart aches a little, hoping he can spend some more time with his boyfriend soon.

 

Gou sighs and says, “Good luck with designing the costumes. I'll see you at practice.”

 

“Yeah... see ya.” Haru replies and she leaves.

 

Soon, Makoto's attention is turned to Haru and hurries over to him. Makoto greets, “Hi, Haru-chan.”

 

“It's just Haru...” Haru says but he's just happy to have Makoto by his side again.

 

“May I have lunch with you? I haven't gotten to each yet!”

 

With that, Haru's doubt is gone and he gives Makoto a smile as he says, “Of course, love.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to introduce some conflict! I won't get too angsty but I gotta do some conflict before we get to the competitions. For Gou's free skate, I'm using the English lyrics I heard from Caleb Hyles singing Junna's “Here” but I linked the Japanese version of the song, just so you all know. Thank you for reading!

There's a month left until the competitive season starts. They're all working themselves to the bone to prepare for the competition.

 

Haru is hyper-aware of his fellow teammates practicing despite being told to focus on his own programs. His short program is a shortened version of “Moonlight Sonata” but he's simply not feeling the music and his triple Axel is just not coming to him when he needs it. Instead, Haru decides to take a break and watch his teammates practice their programs.

 

Makoto is as graceful and expressive as ever as he crisscrosses across the ice in his step sequence before his first quad Toe Loop combination jump. Haru can hear the music in his mind as he watches Makoto land the first quad and power through the triple Toe Loop. The symbolism in his motions of dancing with another invisible skater makes Haru ache to join him... to skate the song that's their song.

 

When watching Makoto becomes too heart-aching, he moves on to Nagisa. If Haru could hear the music in Makoto's skating, he could see it physically with Nagisa's skating. Haru still doesn't know how Nagisa talked Yuuri into letting him skate [Camellia's “Lunatic Rough Party!!”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfM-ByXzTps) for his free skate but considering how skilled Nagisa is at music representation in his skating, he doesn't doubt for a second that Nagisa can pull off skating to something so unorthodox for a competition.

 

Nagisa can do quads now but what Haru envys the most in Nagisa's skating is how perfect his edgework and miming is. He watches as Nagisa practice his build-up step sequence before the bass drop in the song. He notices Nagisa changes his hand motions every repeating beat sequence of the song until the song start to speed up and goes staticy. Nagisa pauses his movements for that part and bursts into a furious step sequence when the chorus of the song begins. Soon, he's lost in Nagisa's motions as he changes his skating from graceful to furious when the song changes between the two.

 

Suddenly the true chorus of the song begins and he realizes Nagisa has loaded all his jumps to the second half of the song. Haru is frozen in amazement as Nagisa navigates between triple jumps with a raised arm, and between playful step sequences, matching the party-like atmosphere of the song. The last chorus appears and Nagisa barely lands a quad Toe Loop as his last jump. He looks exhausted at the end of his last spin but he pumps a fist in the air and cheers for himself on completing his program.

 

Haru doesn't know why but he's jealous. He wishes he had Nagisa's talent at music representation which was probably drilled into him after years of ballet and ice skating practice that Haru never took seriously enough. It's frustrating that he can do more quads than Nagisa but Nagisa easily upstages him with his beauty.

 

Haru isn't the only one to notice because he catches Rei sneaking glances at his boyfriend when he's supposed to be practicing lifts with Chigusa and Sasabe.

 

When Haru has had enough of feeling the jealousy inside him while eyeing Nagisa, he pays attention to Gou. She is skating slow circles around the rink. Her eyes meet with Haru's and she skates over to him. He's tempted to ignore her and just try to practice his triple Axel again but she stops in front of him and says, “Hey, why aren't you skating?”

 

“... Don't feel like it.”

 

She frowns, “That's not like you, Haru... Well, want to help me with my free skate?”

 

“How would I do that?” Haru asks, confused.

 

She gets out her music player and hands it to him before saying, “Just listening to my free skate music while I skate and tell me what I could improve with my choreography... Coach Katsuki is letting me choreograph my own program.”

 

Haru is surprised because his own programs for the upcoming season were choreographed by Yuuri and Victor. Instead of asking more questions about it, he nods and puts the earbuds in. Gou quickly puts the song on queue for him and skates to the middle of the rink. She gets into her starting position... which is reminiscent of his cousin's free program “Yuri on Ice”.

 

Haru can hear the [music in his ears](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq6VhQGz-no), Gou is still during the opening vocal until the vocal of, “ _ I am here, waiting,”  _ He arms raise to her chest and she skates backwards into a soft mime sequence to the vocals, “ _ My lungs fill up with fear, the ground beneath me breaking, the rain within the clouds blackening on my dreams.”  _ She picks up into a step sequence with the vocal, “ _ To survive within this world one cannot hesitate!”  _ By then, Haru is lost in her skating. Her skating reflects the longing for someone... something Haru is very familiar with since it's often a theme in his skating.

 

He doesn't pay attention to the music again until she launches herself into a triple Lutz to the vocal, “ _ Do I hear, calling out, someone coming to save me?” _

 

Another vocal combined with the expression on her face catches his attention, “ _ Damn this heart, still it burns, with a desire for you!” _

 

Haru notices her choreography fizzles out in the second half but she lands the rest of her jumps with a raised arm. Haru doesn't doubt she'll win medals this season even with the flawed program but he wants to help her make it better.

 

When she skates over to him, he doesn't spare her from criticism, “Your whole second half was luke-warm besides the jumps.”

 

She sighs, “I know... But, do you think it gets the message I want across?”

 

“... If it's to impress Chigusa, it's not going to work with that second half.”

 

Gou gets pissed at that and practically spits, “None of that was for Chigusa! I thought you would understand since we're both skating for the same person...”

 

It doesn't click at first because his first thought is Makoto until he realizes, “Oh... that's for Rin, isn't it?”

 

She nods and says, “I... I missed my brother. If I can't skate for Chigusa, then I want my brother to understand how he made me feel while he was away in Australia.”

 

Haru nods, understanding how hard it must have been for her. All he can say is, “Ask my cousin for help for the second half. It's not weak to ask for help.”

 

She smiles at that and says, “Thanks, Haru.” She skates off to Yuuri to get help.

 

Left to his own devices, Haru sighs and decides to give practicing his quad Salchow a try. If he can solidly land three different quads that day he'll feel he's accomplished something. Haru still has Gou's music player and decides to use it to listen to the music of his free skate while practicing. He's aware that he must look frustrated because right now he can't help but feel inadequate to his teammates. After watching how well his teammates are doing, Haru can't help but feel that he's now the weakest link on the team now... and it's not lost on Yuuri, who watches Haru unsuccessfully land a quad Salchow at least two times before Haru gives up and practices his program without any jumps.

 

…

 

The next day, after finishing his homework and eating dinner, his thoughts drift to his teammates’ progress. Over the months they've been training, the team as a whole has developed into a powerhouse of future champions. You can expect no less from being trained under Katsuki Yuuri... but Haru knows in his gut that he's made the least amount of progress.

 

Makoto didn't have the stamina to land at least two quads in his free program, Nagisa couldn't land a quad or triples with a raised arm, and Gou couldn't land a triple Lutz before Yuuri started coaching them. Hell, even Rei has made more progress than Haru has with ice dancing; he could barely perform lifts with Nagisa before Yuuri and Sasabe had Rei start doing weight training. Sure, Haru may be able to confidently land a quad Salchow now but he still has trouble with under-rotations and messy footwork on the ice.

 

Haru softly pounds his head on his desk in his room, causing his sketchbook and pen to fall on the floor. What is he doing wrong? Is he not practicing enough? Even worse, is it just that he doesn't have the talent like Nagisa has or the drive that Makoto has? He's worked out every damn day for the past few months. Why. Is. He. Not. Progressing?

 

Frustrated, Haru goes to his window and sees Makoto's lights are on in his room but his blinds are closed. He's tempted to walk over to Makoto's place and beg for comfort but at the same time, a voice in his head tells him that Makoto doesn't want anything to do with him right now... and he's half-way convinced that's true by how it seems the two never get any time together.

 

An idea comes to Haru once his mind sobers a bit from the thought that Makoto might not want him. Why doesn't he practice on his own? The rink lets skaters native to the town go at almost any time they want so he should take advantage of it.

 

Grabbing his sports bag with his skates, Haru leaves for the rink. He jogs the entire way, even up and down the steps of the hillsides of Iwatobi now that he has the stamina to from months of training.

 

…

 

When he gets to the rink, Haru expects to be alone besides the rink staff. Instead, there's someone out on the ice. Haru is quick to changes into his skates in the locker room before heading to the rinkside to find out who the other person is.

 

On the ice is Yuuri, who is practicing a very familiar program... because it's his own program from his junior days.

 

Watching closely, Haru watches Yuuri copy the same movements he did years ago when he was trying to capture Makoto's attention but with a lot more finesse than he ever could have done. Yuuri's motions were an exact replication of a young man in love and Yuuri portrayed it more authentically than Haru ever could. Just like that, Haru watches Yuuri land a quad Flip where Haru landed a triple Lutz so long ago before finishing with the same spin and same post as he did.

 

Yuuri is breathing a little heavier from the program, standing from the ending position to look. When he catches sight of Haru, Yuuri goes wide-eyed. Haru is about to leave until Yuuri shouts, “Wait! I need to talk to you.”

 

Haru stops just before going into the locker room to hear his cousin say, “I wanted to talk to you about the progress you've made.”

 

His heart sinks at hearing Yuuri say that and he's now even more tempted just to go home. Even though the desire to leave is there... something else tells him to stay and confront his cousin. His cousin needs to know how he has felt the past few months.

 

He makes his way back to the rink and gets on the ice after taking off his skate guards. Yuuri skates over to him and is smiling until he notices the resentful expression on Haru's face. Yuuri tries to ignore it and say, “You've made some good progress in the past few months.”

 

“How have I made progress? Just because I can land a quad Salchow now without falling too much?” Haru knows how pessimistic he sounds and can see it in Yuuri's expression that Yuuri is not pleased by the self-deprecation.

 

“No... That's part of it but I've noticed your footwork has improved and your rotations are more complete than they were before.” Yuuri praises him but it doesn't really reach him. Haru is still fixated on the amount of progress that his teammates have made compared to him. He simply looks away from Yuuri.

 

Yuuri finally can't take it anymore and directly asks, “What's wrong, Haruka?”

 

Haru crosses his arms and says, “What's wrong? I worked hard for the past three months and I hardly have anything to show for it compared to Makoto and Nagisa!” Haru grits his teeth, trying not to angrily cry. His arms uncross as Yuuri's expression turns shocked at the amount of emotion he's getting from Haru. Haru continues, “I've done nothing but school and skating the entire time. I've had no time to focus on anything else like-” He stops himself from bringing up Makoto, not wanting his cousin to know he and his boyfriend are having problems because of the schedule and replaces it with, “Like playing video games or drawing something other than costumes... and yet, I don't feel like I've gotten any better...”

 

Both are quiet for awhile until Yuuri asks, “Haru... Are you anxious about competing?”

 

Haru stares at him and he continues, “If you didn't even want to compete before and now you do, is that why you keep falling on jumps you normally can land? I have noticed that you're falling behind recently.”

 

“I... I don't know.” Haru is honest. He's not sure what he's feeling when everything seems to be swirling around him.

 

Yuuri sighs and puts a hand on Haru's shoulder before saying, “I think you're anxious... and it's centered around how well you compare to those around you. If I could arrange it, do you want to practice on your own without your teammates around?”

 

Haru considers it. In the end, his thoughts on how Makoto and the others wouldn't care if he stopped coming to practice win out and he nods. Yuuri nods back and says, “I'll arrange it. I hope the one on one practice benefits you.”

 

Part of Haru feels like it's a mistake because he's driving a further wedge between him and his friends but at the same time he feels like he has no choice if he wants to get better at skating.

 

…

 

Haru's teammates immediately notice that Haru isn't coming to practice. Makoto was the first to notice when Haru wasn't coming out of his home around the time they'd normally go to practice together. In fact, he's noticed that Haru has been ignoring him for almost a month now. They get almost no time together and Makoto is starting to wonder now if Haru is truly starting not care about him. Even after pounding on Haru's door and warning him he'll be late for practice, nothing happens.

 

Makoto goes to practice without Haru... but that doesn't stop him from getting really worried for Haru's well-being.

 

This goes on for about a week. Makoto will ask Nagisa, Rei, and Gou if they've seen Haru and they say no. It isn't until Makoto asks Yuuri that he gets a straight answer, “He's practicing with me at night...”

 

Makoto is relieved Haru is okay but asks, “Why didn't he tell us? Why didn't he tell me...?”

 

Yuuri seems concerned but informs, “I think he's feeling anxious about the competition season but how long has it been since he's spent time with you?”

 

“... Since you started training us. We haven't been on a date or spent much time since then... Coach, do you think he thinks I'm ignoring him? I'm not trying to but we've had almost no time to spend together. I'm worried what's going through his mind right now,” Makoto sighs, “Is it okay if Haru and I can take some time off from training? Only a week after I talk to him... I think he needs me more than ever.”

 

Yuuri seems to understand, his concern turning into a more relaxed expression that he now understands the issue better between his students. Yuuri puts his hands on his hips and says, “Go ahead... let me know when you two have made up and I'll let you take a break. You two have made so much progress that you deserve a break.”

 

Makoto smiles widely and says, “Thank you so much. By the way, when does Haru practice now? Need to know so I can talk to him after practice.”

 

“From Eight to ten o'clock.”

 

“Okay, thanks,” Makoto says.

 

Nagisa isn't too far away and has been listening in. He shouts over to them, “Good luck, Makoto! Get Haru to come back!”

 

Makoto blushes a bit and Yuuri chuckles. Yuuri says, “Get back to practice, Hazuki. I want to see those programs of yours perfect.”

 

While Nagisa rolls his eyes and goes back to skating, Makoto has his mind on Haru and how he's going to confront him later. What should he say?

 

…

 

Haru is spent from practice with Yuuri. Yuuri when he teaches him one on one is a lot more strict and he has less room for error, but it's better because his mind is clearer than before. He doesn't have the worry that he's failing his teammates or his worries with Makoto. He was able to focus on the task at hand and that was landing all his jumps. He manages to land three quad Salchows and a quad Loop-triple Toe Loop combination in practice as well as polish his footwork in his step sequences.

 

What Haru learned about himself was that he needs to be more confident in his abilities because he can do it; He just needs to focus when he's on the ice.

 

When Haru is close to his home, he notices that someone is waiting at his front door. Cautiously making his way closer, he soon relaxes as he notices it's Makoto... but then tenses again as he realizes that it's Makoto. What does he want?

 

“Hey, Haru...” Makoto greets.

 

“Hey... What are you doing here?”

 

Makoto sighs, suddenly annoyed as he complains, “I've been worried sick! First, you stopped inviting me over to your house because of our strict practice schedule. Second, you stopped seeing me at school for some reason. Now, you stopped practicing with the rest of us at the rink... What's wrong, Haru? Are... Are you getting tired of me? Of skating?”

 

Haru pauses for a moment, processing the situation. So, Makoto has been worried about him?

 

Getting himself together, he explains, “Well... Our schedule has been tight. We never got to see each other and then-” He feels stupid for admitting this, “Over a month ago, I saw you talking to Tsubaki-san. She was flirting with you and... I felt that you didn't want to be with me. I was worried you were getting bored of me now that we weren't seeing each other,” Haru shuffles a bit nervously as he finally admits, “About the practices... I feel like I'm lagging behind you and Nagisa. Yuuri said if I was getting anxious that I should try practicing on my own. I figured you guys wouldn't care so I took the opportunity.”

 

As Haru prepares to be scolded for his stupidity now that he realizes really where his anxiety is coming from, he's surprised when Makoto just sighs and gives him an empathic look. Even more surprising is when Makoto raises up his arms and says, “Come here.

 

Haru bites his lip for a moment and runs up the steps to meet Makoto in a hug. He doesn't care that he's crying; He missed Makoto so much it hurts more than he imagined it ever would. He sobs into Makoto's chest as Makoto rubs his back and comforts him. It feels so natural, as if this is how it's supposed to be with him in Makoto's arms. Makoto is smiling, happy to have Haru close to him again.

 

“Haruka, you were jealous? I'd never leave you behind for anyone else,” Haru looks up at him and sniffles as he continues, “Nagisa and I look up to you when we practice. We wouldn't have gotten this far without having you as a role model to strive towards, you know that?”

 

Haru doesn't seem convinced but Makoto pays no mind as he informs, “Coach is letting us take a week off from practice.”

 

Haru blinks and asks, “Really?”

 

Makoto nods and says, “Yeah, I thought we could take that time to ourselves... I need you.”

 

The idea of getting a break is a relief for both of them. Haru gets on his toes and kisses Makoto on his cheek. Makoto smiles and soon they're kissing softly on Haru's doorstep. When the kiss gets too heated, they pull away and shyly gaze at each other. It's been so long but it's getting late and they have school in the morning. To say goodbye, they hug again and Haru whispers in Makoto's ear, “Text me when you get to your room. I think a date to that new cafe would be nice.”

 

Makoto hums in agreement before saying, “I'll see you in the morning, Haru-chan.”

 

“... Leave out the 'chan'.'

 

Haru watches Makoto go home before going into his own home. Once he's inside, he almost cries again at how relieved he is that Makoto hasn't forgotten about him. In fact, he feels like an idiot for letting his anxiety get him this bent out of shape. Now that Haru can think clearly, he knows what he's going to do once he's off break.

 

He wants to join his teammates on the ice again but he wants to also practice on his own... now he just needs to figure out the logistics of getting his school work done as well.

 

…

 

Once the crisis with Makoto and Haru was resolved, Yuuri ended up letting the whole team have a week off from practice to give their minds a break.

 

…

 

With the skating season starting in only weeks away, the figure skating community is anxious for their favorite skaters to take the ice. Specifically, the Japanese figure skating community is buzzing with hype as a new rise of skaters emerge after the era of Katsuki Yuuri as their ace. In a certain Discord server, a group of fans discuss the upcoming season:

 

_ Katsuki13: Exciting season coming up, right guys? _

 

_ StarPower: You have no idea how hyped I am. My parents are letting me buy tickets for all the ice shows I want this season to celebrate me graduating high school so I get to watch everything <3 _

 

_ Bluemoon1: I'm jealous, you get to see Nagisa in person on the ice ;-; _

 

_ Marked-Soul: Seeing Nagisa isn't that exciting. _

 

_ Bluemoon1: You go to highschool with him, hun. You may not be excited but we are ;-; _

 

_ StarPower: ASJKHSIHJLKL I'M SO EXCITED. _

 

_ StarPower: The first competition I'm going to is the town one in Iwatobi. It's not Samezuka skating but I want to see how Iwatobi stacks up against my son Rin. _

 

_ Katsuki13: Your 'son' doesn't stand a chance against Iwatobi. They're being coached by Japan's reigning Ace. _

 

_ Bluemoon1: Oh no, please don't start flaming each other already. _

 

_ StarPower: RIN CAN LAND A QUAD LUTZ. BITE MY ASS, KATSUKI13. _

 

_ Marked-Soul: In practice, sure. But has he landed it in competition? No. He's lucky to have won Australian Junior Nationals. _

 

_ Bluemoon1: Babe, don't join in. You're feeding the saltiness. _

 

_ Katsuki13: Bitch, have you seen the Iwatobi team? Nanase-kun can land different 3 quads and a quad Flip! Tachibana-kun can land a quad Flip now from what I've heard and Hazuki-kun plans to put his quads in the second half of his program AND has a higher components score than Matsuoka-kun ever has achieved. _

 

_ Marked-Soul: Again, a lot of this is speculation from what their coaches have been bragging on Instagram and Twitter. Both of you need to chill. _

 

_ Bluemoon1: Both teams have skill, fam. Besides, you shouldn't be arguing about this when you won't even see Samezuka and Iwatobi skate against each other until Regionals. It's a given that Nagisa, Haruka and Makoto will probably sweep the entire podium at the town competition, but Regionals will be interesting when Ikuya and Asahi compete. _

 

_ Bluemoon1: Btw, daily reminder to y'all that I want Ikuya to step on me with his skates on. _

 

_ Marked-Soul: We know, my love X'D _

 

_ StarPower: Whatever, I know Rin is going to make it to Nationals and become Japan's new Ace. _

 

_ Marked-Soul: How do you think Yamazaki and Nitori will do? _

 

_ StarPower: Probably meh, neither of them were very impressive skaters to begin with so I don't expect much. _

 

_ Katsuki13: Y'all said that about Hazuki-kun (except Bluemoon) until he posted a video of himself doing a quad Toe Loop-triple Toe Loop combination on Youtube. Look how he surprised us and they might do the same. _

 

_ StarPower: Yeah true... _

 

_ Katsuki13: Btw, did everyone see Matsuoka Gou's triple Lutz?! _

 

_ Marked-Soul: Yes <3 _

 

_ Bluemoon1: I did! Our little sugar plum is growing into a beautiful skater ;-; _

 

_ StarPower: Omg, she's amazing. I think we can all agree we'd all die for Gou-chan. _

 

_ StarPower: I hear her new free program is being dedicated to someone she loves. Do you think it could be one of her rinkmates? _

 

_ Katsuki13: HAHAHAHAHA no, aren't they all gay or some sort of LGBT? _

 

_ Marked-Soul: I go to school with them and can confirm that they're all gay, Gou included. _

 

_ StarPower: REALLY!? Please tell me the rumors are true and that Rin and Haru are a thing. _

 

_ Katsuki13: Ew, RinHaru shipper. _

 

_ StarPower: Shut up, RinHaru is the superior ship. _

 

_ Marked-Soul: … Um, I'm pretty sure Makoto and Haru are a couple. _

 

_ StarPower: FUCK _

 

_ Bluemoon1: Rip your ship, Star. _

 

_ Bluemoon1: I just want all the skaters to be happy. _

 

_ Marked-Soul: Same. _

 

_ Katsuki13: I hope Haru and Makoto are happy. I can imagine that skating all the time would have a rough schedule on a relationship. _

 

_ Marked-Soul: From what I've heard, things have been tough for them because of Coach Katsuki's strict schedule but they are getting a weeklong break so they have some time to recooperate. Nagisa is apparently salty that Rei is spending so much time with his ice dance partner, Chigusa though. _

 

_ Bluemoon1: That sounds like Nagisa alright... Let's hope those two have a nice date during their break as well. _

 

_ Katsuki13: Prayer circle for our faves, okay? _

 

_ StarPower: Prayer circle commence! _

 

…

 

“You're going to Japan, Yuri? For the whole skating season?!” Yakov shouts, completely infuriated at his pupil.

 

Yuri sips his coffee and shrugs. Yakov continues, gesturing as he talks, “I can't believe you! You get just a small funk in your creativity and you pull a Victor on me. What exactly in Japan do you think is going to give you inspiration?!”

 

Yuri looks him dead in the eye and says, “My competition,” He stands and emphasizes, “I need to see what I'll be up against in future seasons... I want to see if Katsudon and Victor will give me the motivation I need this season.”

 

Yakov grits his teeth but caves, “Fine... you can go to Japan. But be back before Skate America, you hear me?”

 

“Loud and clear, coach.”


End file.
